Editor’s Note: Whether on screen or off, Hollywood can always be counted on to keep us entertained. This is especially true when it comes to politics. Liberty Nation’s Hollyweird column shines the spotlight on Tinseltown’s A-listers and their wild and wacky takes on today’s current events.
Are Celebs Abandoning Johnny Depp?
[substack align=”right”]After Johnny Depp won his defamation suit against ex-wife Amber Heard, fans were ecstatic. Finally, the Pirates of the Caribbean star had been vindicated – or so it seemed. However, supporters couldn’t leave well enough alone and chose to dig deeper, reportedly paying $3,000 to unseal court documents in an attempt to find more damning evidence on Heard. Instead, the thousands of legal papers seem to suggest Depp might not have been as innocent as believed.
The documents show Depp’s legal team’s plan to use nude photographs of Heard and her employment as a stripper, according to Jezebel. The paperwork also contained:
“confirmation that photos and audio submitted by Depp had been manipulated; notes from the couple’s therapist confirming Heard was a victim of ‘intimate partner violence’; texts from Depp and his assistant all but confirming Heard’s allegation that he’d kicked and beat her in front of his staff on a private plane; Depp’s attempts to help Marilyn Manson, another alleged abuser, hide from the police; and more.”
When Depp used Instagram to celebrate his victory, a lot of A-listers liked the post. Now, however, since the documents have been unsealed, many Tinseltown celebs have taken back their likes. Some include Sophie Turner (Game of Thrones), Joey King (The Kissing Booth), Dakota Fanning (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood), Bruce Campbell (Evil Dead), Orlando Bloom (Pirates of the Caribbean), and even Iron Man himself, Robert Downey Jr.
There are still some Depp supporters, or at least those who haven’t removed their likes, including Jennifer Aniston (Friends), Gemma Chan (Crazy Rich Asians, Eternals), Zoe Saldana (Avatar, Guardians of the Galaxy), Naomi Campbell (Empire), and Jason Momoa (Aquaman).
Will this revelation change the minds of Depp fans? Likely not. But, for the Hollywood elites, staying on the right side of political correctness could be seen as paramount to keeping their fame and glory.
Cheers And Jeers
Sometimes, HollyWeird players make headlines for silly or bizarre happenings, so here is a collection of newsworthy doings — honorable and dishonorable — by the tenants of Tinseltown.
Actors in Uproar Over Cast Choice for Fidel Castro
Actor John Leguizamo (To Wong Foo) is all worked up and asking – or, rather, demanding – people boycott the upcoming movie Alina of Cuba because the actor playing Fidel Castro, James Franco (Spider-Man trilogy), is not Latino. “How is this still going on?” Leguizamo tweeted. “How is Hollywood excluding us but stealing our narratives as well? No more appropriation Hollywood and streamers. Boycott! This F’d up! Plus seriously difficult story to tell without aggrandizement which would b wrong! I don’t got a prob with Franco but he ain’t Latino!”
The filmmakers argued that Franco best resembled Castro, saying:
“To get there on such a tough look to cast, we used Fidel Castro’s ancient Galician heraldry as our focal compass, and then combed through the entire ranks of actors with Latin roots in Hollywood to find someone who has a similar facial structure. In executing a close search into our hopefuls through the eye of Spanish and Portuguese genealogy which the Galicians held, we found that James, by far, had the closest facial likeness.”
Alina Fernández, Castro’s daughter, approved the choice, commenting, “James Franco has an obvious physical resemblance with Fidel Castro, besides his skills and charisma.”
(Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Netflix Cancels LGBTQ?
The network’s new series Q-Force just got canceled, despite its popularity, after one season. The animated show is about a group of gay secret agents who have gone rogue because their LGBTQ lifestyle didn’t fit in with the military’s vision. Although it had a Rotten Tomatoes score of 78%, there just wasn’t enough viewership to warrant keeping the series.
Ever since Netflix reported a loss in April’s quarterly earnings, the company has been on a cancel mission. Shows left and right are being booted if they don’t have a high enough viewership. What’s surprising about not renewing Q-Force is its LGBTQ plot and how the network has been very supportive of the community.
