Johnny Depp Signs 7-Figure Deal With Dior After Winning Defamation Trial
After winning the defamation lawsuit against ex-wife Amber Heard, Johnny Depp is back in the news and back with Dior- endorsing a controversial Dior fragrance.
According to the Insider, Depp has signed a multiyear contract to resume being face of Sauvage, a popular Dior fragrance. The deal is reportedly worth a whopping 7 figures.
Depp has been an ambassador for the French Design House since 2015 and even appeared in a mini promotional film for Sauvage in 2019.
At that time, Dior faced considerable backlash and accusations of cultural appropriation for the marketing of the fragrance. Many argued that the name Sauvage and its Native-American marketing themes were offensive.
However, Americans for Indian Opportunity (AIO), a nonprofit that advocates for indigenous peoples, had told Insider back then that they had closely worked with Dior on the project to help ensure that the goals of inclusivity and education were met.
A statement from AIO at that time had also revealed that the collaboration happened after Depp (adopted by the Comanche Nation in 2012) reached out to his Comanche family for their help in ensuring that Native cultures were appropriately portrayed.
Dior Beauty and 59-year old Depp shared their first partnership post after the lawsuit verdict, on Monday. The post featured black and white images taken by photographer Greg Williams in which Depp can be seen playing guitar backstage at the Olympia Hall in Paris. The images were captioned: “Fearless yet human, just like Sauvage.”
On Tuesday, a second post by Dior Beauty on Instagram showed a Sauvage bottle next to Depp’s guitar, and a caption which included a quote from Depp and how the scent was nostalgic for him.
In a third post, also shared by Dior Beauty on Tuesday, a backstage video interview was featured. The video clip shows Depp saying it’s apt to be performing at the Olympia Hall in Paris as it was the place where he saw his ex-wife Vanessa Paradis perform. Olympia Hall is also where Depp took his children to see Bob Dylan.
According to Hyperbeast, the images of Depp and his music will be included in a new Dior campaign.
While Dior and Depp may sound like they have come through holding hands during the rough patches, it wasn’t always so. The New York Times reported that Dior did not terminate Depp as a brand ambassador during the defamation trial. But it has to be noted that Dior did limit its connection with the Pirates of the Caribbean star during the peak of the trial. One of the ways it did this was by taking the Sauvage commercial off air.
Depp had brought a defamation suit against ex-wife Amber Heard in 2019, when he accused her of defaming him when she described herself as a domestic abuse victim in a 2018 Washington Post op-ed. A seven-member jury team awarded $10.35 million to Depp at the end of the Defamation trial. The panel also handed $2 million to Heard in her countersuit, but Depp was no doubt the clear winner in the legal battle which lasted six weeks.
According to TMZ, sales of Sauvage spiked at both Sephora and Ulta after the defamation trial wrapped up.
