Fans slam music icon for ’empty words’ after bringing Johnny Depp onstage
'Nothing means anything to rich "political" artists.'
When Patti Smith brought Johnny Depp on stage during her 50th anniversary concert for Horses at the London Palladium, it should have been a straightforward moment of celebration.
Two icons – Smith, punk’s enduring poet, and Depp, the beloved actor and musician – sharing the stage for a rendition of People Have the Power.
But instead, the moment sparked something more dissonant among fans, given the complicated figure Depp has become.
Smith introduced Depp with: ‘And Johnny? And Johnny Depp? The original Johnny,’ she told the crowd, nodding to her own lyric from Land / Horses: ‘the boy looked at Johnny.’
The moment felt weighed down by Depp’s public image, which has been reshaped by years of legal battles and allegations of abuse from his ex-wife, Amber Heard.
On Reddit, many fans expressed disappointment in Smith’s decision.
The pair have been friends for many years (Picture: Jamie McCarthy/WireImage)@Strawberryskullskill wrote, ‘Ugh. The true example of how white cis-men usually don’t really get cancelled.’
Another user, @Moriturism, added bluntly: ‘nothing means anything to rich ‘political’ artists. just empty words and money making.’
The comments speak to a growing cultural weariness: the sense that celebrities will always close ranks, no matter who gets hurt. For half a century, Patti Smith has personified integrity and rebellion, but to many, that image flickered in this moment.
And this isn’t the first time she’s aligned herself with Depp. He played guitar on her 2012 album Banga and has appeared with her on stage before, including a recent tribute concert in New York.
She’s also spoken glowingly about him on social media. As @silliestjupiter put it on Reddit, ‘She LOVES him, she posts glowing praise for him often enough that my view of her has been tainted for a while now.’
What happened between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard?Johnny Depp sued ex-wife Amber Heard for defamation over her 2018 Washington Post op-ed, in which she described herself as a survivor of domestic abuse (without naming him).
Heard had accused Depp of repeated physical violence, emotional abuse, and sexual assault during their marriage, including claims that he struck her, threw objects, and assaulted her with a bottle during a 2015 fight in Australia.
Depp denied all allegations, asserting that Heard was the abuser, and testified that she punched him, threw bottles, and once severed part of his fingertip during an argument. He claimed she fabricated evidence to portray herself as a victim and damage his career.
The 2022 Virginia trial became a global media spectacle, with extensive testimony, audio recordings, and photos from both sides. The jury largely sided with Depp, finding that Heard’s op-ed statements were false, defamatory, and made with ‘actual malice.’
Depp was awarded $10.35 million (£8.2 million), while Heard won $2 million (£1.6 million) on one element of her countersuit — over Depp’s lawyer calling her allegations a ‘hoax.’
Both appealed but settled later that year, with Heard agreeing to pay Depp $1 million (£790,000), which he pledged to charity. The case fueled intense public debate about domestic abuse, credibility, gender, and the role of social media in shaping justice.
Still, some fans argue that expecting purity from counterculture icons misunderstands their history entirely.
@Trap_Cubicle5000 wrote, ‘Here’s my opportunity to counter the simple-minded punk rock history revisionism that’s over repeated—punk rockers in America were never exclusively leftist, and their “politics” were almost always more centered on shock value than on anything coherent… People confuse artists with political figures.’
It’s a reminder that punk’s rebellion was never synonymous with progressivism and that Smith, like many icons before her, may be bound more by fame’s inner circle than by any single creed.
Smith has been a countercultural icon since the 60s (Picture: Owen Franken/Corbis via Getty Images)However, many argue that the outcome of the Depp v. Heard trial was overwhelmingly exonerating to Depp, and to ignore that is to ignore the court’s decision. Seemingly, Smith is among those who believe that he isn’t the abuser Heard claimed he was.
Still, when an artist who built her career on empathy and radical honesty invites someone accused of violence into her spotlight, it doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It tells survivors and the audience something about whose voices still get amplified.
Patti Smith once sang that people have the power, but this week, many of her listeners were left wondering exactly who she believes should hold it.
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