Dior Refuses to Drop Johnny Depp as Sauvage Sales Skyrocket

Johnny Depp may have been fired from Fantastic Beasts 3 by Warner Bros., but Dion continues to stand by the actor following the loss of his libel case against The Sun earlier this month. This week, Depp was featured in an ad for the brand’s Sauvage cologne that aired in the United Kingdom during The Great British Bake Off, suggesting he will remain as the face of the fragrance. Word he is was paid somewhere between $3 million and $5 million for the TV spot.

Noticing that Dior refused to drop Depp in the same way Warner Bros. had, fans of the actor were quick to hop onto social media to voice their support for the company. “Johnny Depp is still the face of Sauvage, because Dior aren’t idiots. Be like Dior,” one fan tweets, including the #JusticeForJohnnyDepp hashtag. Many other posts from fans share this opinion, with one praising Dior for “practically being the one sponsor left for Johnny Depp that hasn’t turned their back on him.”

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Stressing just how much support Depp continues to have with the public, a poll tweeted by The Chic Geek asks followers directly if Dior should still use Depp in their advertising. With 2,289 total votes, 96.9% of those who participated said “Yes” with only 2.8% voting “No.”

Still, not everyone was happy to see Depp appearing on television so soon after losing his libel lawsuit. According to a spokesperson for the Advertising Standards Authority, a total of 11 complaints about the ad had been communicated to the group, with the “complainants believing that Johnny Depp shouldn’t be in the ad due to details concerning his recent court case.” While it’s never a good thing to receive complaints of any kind, the sales Dior appears to be bringing in by standing by Depp seems to far outweigh the 11 complaints.

In the days since Depp lost both his libel case and role in Fantastic Beasts 3, internet searches for Sauvage have reportedly increased by 23%. The cologne is also the bestselling male fragrance at The Fragrance Shop and is listed in the bestsellers list at The Perfume Shop. It would seem that many of Depp’s fans feel more inspired to help support him financially with the lawsuit putting his acting career in serious jeopardy.

The public drama between Depp and ex-wife Amber Heard began in 2018 when Heard alleged in an op-ed that she was the victim of domestic violence. An article published by The Sun later referred to Depp as a “wife-beater.” At the time, Disney reportedly fired Depp from his role as Captain Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean series. Depp has since filed lawsuits against both Heard and The Sun for the allegations, recently losing the latter case along with his role in Fantastic Beasts 3 as Gellert Grindelwald.

In his defense, Depp insists that Heard was actually the one physically abusive toward him. During the legal battle, Depp’s lawyers released audio of Heard allegedly admitting to being violent toward Depp. This helped corroborate Depp’s version of events for many fans, spawning the #JusticeForJohnnyDepp movement and inspiring a petition to get Heard fired from Aquaman 2 – a campaign that has garnered over a million and a half signatures. Petitions have also been launched to bring Depp back to both Pirates of the Caribbean and Fantastic Beasts 3.

Whether or not the petitions to bring Depp back to these franchises remains to be seen, but for now, he still has a home at Dior. This news comes to us from The Guardian.

Topics: Sexual Misconduct