Johnny Depp will make a guest appearance at Rihanna’s “Savage X Fenty Vol. 4” fashion show, and the reactions to the casting have been mixed to say the least.
Many negative reactions to the collaboration between the two celebrities stem from the recent Depp v. Heard trial, in which Depp emerged victorious, though many saw evidence of domestic abuse on both sides of the divorced couple. Rihanna, who has her own history of domestic violence perpetrated by singer Chris Brown, has come under fire for inviting Depp to guest star instead of Amber Heard.
“‘Our sources say Rihanna and her team invited Johnny to be a part of it, and both sides were super excited to make it happen,’” TMZ reported. “Rihanna reached out to Johnny Depp. One survivor to another,” one Twitter user wrote, followed by a broken heart emoji.
“So brave of Rihanna to bring awareness to erectile dysfunction,” wrote another.
An entertainment writer expressed disgust with the words, “Gross! Rihanna entering her Fenty Flop era?”
Others have come to the fashion mogul and singer’s defense, siding with the outcome of the trial, which found Depp was innocent and the one who suffered abuse at the hands of Heard.
“People in the comments saying, ‘Rihanna this isn’t you’ like they know her personally,” one user tweeted. “Ffs, she can have whoever she wants in her own show. Johnny Depp proved his innocence and I’m tired of y’all defending a woman who is a proven multiple time abuser. It’s weird.”
According to TMZ, Depp won’t be walking the runway in the show, but he will take center stage in one of the show’s “star” moments, as Cindy Crawford and Erykah Badu previously have done. Wearing items from the men’s collection, Depp will be the first male in the history of Savage x Fenty to take this role.
Read on for more reactions to this development: