In July 2023, two pieces of news related to the American actor and Russia spread across the RuNet. So, first there were reports that Depp would come to Moscow in the fall, and later that he filmed a video message for Russians. We checked whether these stories are true.
Is it true that Depp will come to Russia soon?
July 10 about a possible visit of a Hollywood star to Moscow reported "Gazeta.ru" with reference to the press service of the Yamore group. According to representatives of Russian musicians, Depp's fee will be $370,000 (it is specified that the amount should have been higher, but the actor allegedly agreed to less money on the condition that he would be given a tour of the country).
The news was widely distributed in other media (in the newspaper "Komsomolskaya Pravda» on this topic it turned out three at once material), as well as on social networks - for example, on VKontakte, where many public pages about cinema and pop culture wrote about the actor’s supposed arrival (examples here And here). In addition, similar publications were posted by verified accounts of the cinema chain “Cinema Star"and radio Energy. Moreover, often in such posts even not mentioned Russian group and it is alleged that the visit let it slip Depp himself.
In the material "Gazeta.ru" it saysthat negotiations with Depp’s team have been ongoing since 2018, namely from the moment speeches actor as part of the Hollywood Vampires group at the Olimpiysky. At the same time, Yamore musician Mikhail Lisov further clarifies that negotiations began only a couple of years later: “Basically all these years we communicated in the spirit of: “How is life?” In 2020, we had the idea to record a song together, we pitched this idea to Depp’s management. Negotiations were held for two years, everything was complicated by the fact that Depp was suing Amber Heard. A year ago, after winning in court, they wrote to me that he was ready to come.” In the same text reported, that Depp will come to Moscow, but at the same time, the excursion, which the team of the Pirates of the Caribbean star allegedly requested in exchange for a lower fee, is planned in the Kaliningrad region.
“In two weeks we have a video call with the actor. It’s exciting, of course, although Johnny is very easy to talk to, he doesn’t pretend to be anyone, he’s a cool guy. Preparations for his arrival are already actively underway, but the realization that this is not a dream has not yet arrived,” conveys words by Lisov "Gazeta.ru". On social networks "Yamor" clarified, that Russian musicians plan to record a guitar part with Depp for one of their tracks and that now they are “at the most difficult stage - organizational.” Over the next days the artists released a couple more posts about why they chose Depp. At the time of publication of this analysis, two weeks had passed, and no new details about the arrival of the American artist had appeared from the group.
“Verified” could not find news items about Depp’s possible visit to Russia in any authoritative or at least well-known foreign publication about cinema, music and pop culture in general. It would seem that at least the leading tabloids should have written about such a decision by a Hollywood celebrity, whose person has attracted special attention from the press in recent years. There is no mention of an autumn visit to Moscow or Kaliningrad in instagram* And Facebook* Deppa, huh schedule in the “Music” section on the artist’s personal website is tour Hollywood Vampires group until July 30, 2023 (the plan includes European countries, the Russian Federation is not among them).
The day after the publication of Gazeta.ru, July 11, on VKontakte appeared The post reads as follows: “The Edel / EarMusic company, which is the agent of the Californian rock sensation Hollywood Vampires, cannot confirm Mikhail Lisov’s statement about a joint recording of Johnny Depp with the Yamore group, since no negotiations about this were held with the artist’s representative and no offers were received.” The author of the original post is a person under the nickname Mr Texas (according to the profile description, he works in the PR department of the American company Top Stars Entertainment). In a personal conversation with Verified, Mr Texas said that he got information about Depp from a corporate chat on WhatsApp. However, he refused to share the original message. The EarMusic press service did not respond to the “Verified” request.
On July 13, a more official response appeared, this time from Stephen Deuters, general director film company IN.2 Films, which Depp created in 2021. Twitter users asked Deuters whether Depp would really visit the Russian Federation in the fall, to which he replied: “There will be no visits to Russia.”
An additional argument can be considered the presence on the Internet of many photo-, video- And oral evidence that during the performance of a cover of David Bowie’s “Heroes” at various Hollywood Vampires performances, a Ukrainian flag is displayed on the screen behind the artists, and thus the band expresses their support for the country.
It is noteworthy that back in February 2023, in a conversation with the same Gazeta.ru, Mikhail Lisov toldthat the Yamore group is going to shoot a video in the castle of Alla Pugacheva and Maxim Galkin in the village of Gryaz. It is clarified that the team members spent about a year looking for a location for filming. “All communication takes place through the person who is currently selling the house. I don’t know how directly this is coordinated with Alla Pugacheva, because negotiations are being conducted through intermediaries,” Lisov said. Moreover, in July Gazeta.ru itself noted, that until now there has been no information about whether the team actually filmed their video in the artists’ house.
Did Depp really record a special message for Russians?
On July 13, new reports related to Depp and Russia circulated in the media and social networks. It was alleged that at the pre-screening of the historical film "Jeanne DuBarry“In Moscow, Depp’s special video message to Russian viewers was broadcast, where in conclusion he said: “Take care of yourself, see you” (according to another version - “Take care of yourself, and see you!”). "RIA Novosti» with reference to the English-language edition Eprimefeed reported that in this way the actor “promised to see his fans in the near future.”
Many other Russian media outlets also wrote about this short video, including the aforementioned “Gazeta.ru", Lenta.ru etc. Videos and posts about videos went viral on social networks - for example, on VKontakte in large publics about cinema, as well as in the verified community of the cinema chain "Cinema Star" and platforms "Let's look"
On July 12, 2023, in the Moscow cinema "Khudozhestvenny" took place social premiere of the film “Jeanne DuBarry”. In particular, at the event was present basketball player Caterina Keyru - some publications that reported on Depp’s appeal referred to a video posted by the athlete on Instagram.
It is noticeable in the recording that the video has Russian subtitles, and at the end of his address, Depp supposedly says the truth: “Take care of yourself, and see you later!” According to the site Eprimefeed, then in the original the actor’s words were: “Take care and see you soon.” However, if you listen to the speech, you can hear that the artist said: “Take care, bye, thank you.” Depp's real phrase can be translate like “Take care, bye, thank you.” That is, the promise of a meeting with fans did not come from the actor’s lips.
But was this appeal generally addressed only to Russians?
As already mentioned, the general director of Depp’s film company wrote that the actor does not intend to go to Russia. However, this comment by Deuters, who also spoke he did not limit himself to one of the producers of the film “Jeanne DuBarry”. He's on Twitter wrote, that in the video Depp addressed residents of many countries, not just Russia: “This was a video shot for the world release of the film.” The press service of the film distribution company Russian World Vision also explainedthat Depp's video message was recorded to promote the film around the world.
Let us note that many Russian media outlets have issued refutations of the report that Depp will come to the Russian Federation and that he recorded a special video for the Russians. However, some publications did this in a unique way: for example, “Gazeta.ru", Lenta.ru and platform "Let's look“Even in their denials they insisted that Depp said the words “see you” or “see you later.” Gazeta.ru also provided a video in which Johnny Depp actually addresses exclusively the residents of Russia and says “see you later,” and in Russian. Just a new video was recorded by a Russian designer, officially replaced name to become the namesake of a Hollywood star (previously his name was Igor Rector).
*Russian authorities think Meta Platforms Inc., which owns the social networks Instagram and Facebook, is an extremist organization; its activities in Russia are prohibited.
Cover photo: @johnnydepp / @dior (Instagram)
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