Dior is keeping Johnny Depp as the face of its fragrance, Sauvage, despite the actor losing his recent libel case.
Johnny Depp, 57, lost the libel lawsuit against British newspaper The Sun, which ran an article in 2018 with the headline ‘Gone Potty: How can JK Rowling be ‘genuinely happy’ casting wife-beater Johnny Depp in the new Fantastic Beasts film?’ Ruling against the actor, the judge said he found the comment to be ‘substantially true’.
Despite calls for Dior to cut ties with Depp, it appears to be standing by him. The actor has been the face of Dior’s Sauvage fragrance since 2015.
There were several complaints made to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) after the advert aired during the break of The Great British Bake Off.
“We have received a total of 11 complaints about this ad with the complainants believing that Johnny Depp shouldn’t be in the ad due to details concerning his recent court case,” a spokesperson for the ASA said to The Guardian.
It’s rumored that Depp was paid around $3-$5 million for appearing in the advert.
Public relations expert Mark Bokowski believes that Dior should drop Depp as the face of Sauvage.
“I think it would be sensible for Dior to sever links with Depp. Anything can be stopped by pressing a button if they really wanted to,” Bokowski said to The Guardian.
On the other hand, people took to social media to praise Dior for keeping Depp on its campaign, unlike Warner Bros., which recently asked Depp to resign from his role in Fantastic Beasts 3.
After Depp’s departure from the franchise, Mads Mikkelson has been confirmed to be cast as Depp’s former role of Grindlewald, with the film appearing to still be on track for its summer 2022 release.
“Dior Sauvage is trending and while it is, I’d just like to thank Dior for being absolute legends and standing beside Johnny Depp when no one else would. Iconic. Legendary. We will continue to support such a loyal brand,” one person tweeted.
“Thank you thank you @Dior means so so much to me that you are standing by Johnny Depp,’ as another said, ‘Well done @Dior for not dropping Johnny Depp for your #Sauvage scent. About time he got some kind of public support,” another user tweeted.