Johnny Depp Will Appear In Rihanna’s Upcoming Fashion Show Five Months After Amber Heard Trial

Topline

Johnny Depp will appear in Rihanna’s upcoming Savage X Fenty lingerie show on Amazon Prime, Variety and Entertainment Weekly confirmed Thursday, in what is one of the biggest signs the industry is welcoming Depp back since he won his civil defamation trial earlier this year against Amber Heard, who accused him of abuse.

Key Facts

Depp will join other previously-announced celebrity models including Sheryl Lee Ralph, Cara Delevingne, Lilly Singh, Taraji P. Henson and Simu Liu in the annual show, which airs on Amazon Prime Video on November 9 (TMZ first reported news of the actor’s cameo on Thursday).

Depp’s name was not listed among the many celebrities who are set to appear in the pre-taped special.

Since winning the widely-publicized trial in June, Depp—who alleged his career suffered after Heard first accused him—appeared at the MTV Video Music Awards as a life-sized “moon person,” the award given out at the ceremony, and has toured with Jeff Beck.

Depp is also set to direct a movie about artist Amedeo Modigliani and appear as King Louis XV in the film Jeanne du Barry.

Forbes has reached out to Amazon Prime Video, Savage X Fenty and Rihanna for comment.

Key Background

Depp was awarded $10 million by a Virgina jury that found Heard guilty of defaming him in a 2018 Washington Post op-ed, in which Heard described herself as a “public figure representing domestic abuse.” The jury also found that Depp defamed Heard through statements made by his lawyer, and awarded her $2 million. Heard accused Depp of physically and emotionally abusing her, and described instances in which he violently assaulted her using a bottle of vodka and threatened to kill her. Depp denied ever abusing Heard, and said she was the aggressor in their toxic relationship. Both parties have appealed the judgements against them. The six-week-long televised trial captured the attention of millions, with fans tuning in everyday to watch hours of testimony. In 2020, Depp sued British tabloid The Sun for libel for describing him as a “wife beater,” which he lost. Many social media users watching the U.S. trial appeared to favor Depp over Heard, and a report from disinformation research firm Bot Sentinel determined the anti-Heard campaign on Twitter was one of “one of the worst cases of cyberbullying and cyberstalking by a group of Twitter accounts.”

Further Reading

Rihanna Will Release Her First New Music In Five Years On Friday (Forbes)

Johnny Depp Appeals $2 Million Verdict In Amber Heard’s Countersuit—Just After Her Appeal (Forbes)

Amber Heard Appeals Johnny Depp Defamation Verdict (Forbes)