Depp: I feel like Hollywood is boycotting me, which has prevented Minamata Disease from being released

Johnny Depp, 58, said in a recent interview with foreign media that his new film "Minamata Disease" could not be released in the United States because he was boycotted, and called his decline in Hollywood status "media absurdity." In a conversation with the Sunday Times, he talked about the recent "unreal five years" (he and his ex-wife Amber Heard began their divorce drama in 2016).

"Minamata Disease" is adapted from a book written by W. Eugene Smith and his wife. In 1956, a strange disease called "Minamata Disease" caused by mercury pollution broke out in Japan. In the 1970s, American journalist Eugene, played by Depp, was commissioned to come to Japan to record this strange disease. In addition to Depp, the film's starring actors include Bill Nighy, Hiroyuki Sanada, Tadanobu Asano, Minami, Ryo Kase, and Hayabusa Kunimura.

In 2018, the British newspaper The Sun called Depp a "wife-beater" and Depp sued the newspaper for defamation. On November 2, 2020, the British court ruled that Depp lost the case. The judge believed that Depp had repeatedly assaulted his ex-wife Amber Heard and established 12 of the 14 domestic violence charges. Subsequently, Depp was fired by Warner from the crew of "Fantastic Beasts 3", and Disney no longer wanted him for the reboot of "Pirates of the Caribbean". He no longer participated in Jerry Bruckheimer's new play "Harry Houdini"...

Referring to Minamata Disease, Depp said he "looked those people in the eye and promised that we were not using/exploiting them, that the film would be respectful. I believe we did that, and those who came in later should also abide by their promises." Regarding his position in the Hollywood industry, Depp said, "Some movies move people, which affects the people in Minamata Disease and those who are experiencing similar situations. As for Hollywood's boycott of me? A person, an actor, has been in an unpleasant and chaotic situation for the past few years?"

Depp also said, "I am moving in the direction I need to go in order to get the truth out there."

Recently, the film's director Andrew Levitas also issued an open letter, criticizing the distributor MGM for wanting to shelve the film. Levitas wrote: "I don't understand why the private life of an actor (Depp) is more important than the suffering of victims of industrial pollution.