Pulling a Brad Pitt! Johnny Depp thanked his fans for their support while making his first postdivorce public appearance at the 2017 People’s Choice Awards on Wednesday, January 18. Accepting the award for Favorite Movie Icon, the Pirates of the Caribbean actor, 53, spoke candidly about his fans standing by him through thick and thin. Watch his emotional speech in the clip above.
“I came here for one reason tonight and one reason only — I love you too, kid, thanks. I came here for you, the people who through whatever good times or bad, you know, have stood by me, trusted me. Thank you,” a somewhat solemn Depp told the crowd at Los Angeles’ Microsoft Theater. “You very, very graciously invited me here once again tonight. So I appreciate that very much. You have no idea how much I appreciate it.”
Depp, as fans are well aware, recently settled his nasty divorce battle from ex-wife Amber Heard. As previously reported, after Heard filed for divorce in May, the actor was accused of allegedly physically and verbally abusing her during their short-lived marriage. After months of fighting each other in court, they settled their divorce for $7 million on August 16, with Heard vowing to donate the entirety of her settlement money to the ACLU and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.
The exes finalized their divorce on January 13, after eight months of legal drama. “It is a great day. All Amber wanted was to be divorced and now she is,” Heard’s attorney, Pierce O’Donnell, told Us. “In the words of Gerald Ford, ‘Our long national nightmare is over.'”
Depp has most recently been busy filming his latest role for the upcoming film LAbyrinth in Los Angeles. The actor is also now suing his business managers for $25 million, alleging they caused him to lose “tens of millions of dollars” over the years due to “gross misconduct.”
