On Thursday, TMZ reported that Johnny Depp appears in the next installment of Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty fashion show, and Rihanna fans wondered what the singer was thinking.
The Daily Dot can confirm Depp does appear in the episode, which debuts Nov. 9 on Amazon, as does Winston Duke, Bella Poarch, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Simu Liu, and others. Screenshots from Depp’s portion of the show circulated on Twitter Thursday afternoon, after screeners for Savage X Fenty Show Vol. 4 went out.
But Rihanna giving a platform to an accused abuser—whose defamation trial against ex-wife Amber Heard dominated news cycles for months, and drew out deeply misogynistic and delusional responses—didn’t sit right with people, especially since Rihanna is a survivor of domestic abuse. And there’s the report from TMZ’s source claiming that Rihanna asked Depp to appear.
“Rihanna giving Johnny Depp clout is actually a really good example of why it means nothing when someone says ‘as a victim of domestic violence, I support JD,’” said one tweet, referencing a common refrain from Depp supporters.
Depp supporters also chimed in, claiming that Rihanna asked Depp to be part of the show because they’re both survivors of abuse.
Depp appeared at the MTV Videos Music Awards in August, though not as a live segment.
We reached out to Amazon for comment.
