Last week, it was widely reported that Johnny Depp was hiding out on his private island and planned to continue doing so until the controversy surrounding his ugly divorce from Amber Heard begins to subside.
So you can imagine our shock when Depp popped up in LA this week sporting a hipstery new ‘do and hanging with comic Doug Stanhope and noted Taylor Swift songbook interpreter Ryan Adams.
Depp’s return to LA isn’t even the most surprising thing about this photo.
Rather, it’s the fact that he’s hanging out with Stanhope, who’s been a magnet for bad press throughout Depp’s divorce, in part due to some remarkably asinine comments he made in a blog post that was later published on The Wrap.
As you may recall, the boozy, cultishly adored comic (whose age is unknown according to Wikipedia) was one of the many celebs who rushed to Depp’s defense in the days after Heard’s domestic violence accusations went public.
Stanhope took things a step further than the rest, accusing Heard of blackmail in a scathing takedown.
In a recent interview with Howard Stern, Stanhope clarified that he didn’t choose the headline “Johnny Depp is Being Blackmailed By Amber Heard – Here’s How I Know,” but that doesn’t change with the fact that it fit the article that followed just fine.
Several media outlets have described Stanhope as Depp’s “best friend,” a title that formerly belonged to the ghost of Hunter S. Thompson who’s been known to visit the actor while he’s in the throes of the morning D.T.s.
Tim Burton remains unable to transcend his “Morrissey-loving goth who gets to sit at the cool kids’ table” status.
Anyway, sources say Depp not only posed for photos but jumped on stage at the famous Comedy Store on Sunset Blvd., thus confirming that he has zero f–ks to give about negative press.
Is he a modern day pirate with swagger to spare, or a wet-brained, tone deaf star who’s blissfully unaware that he’s in the midst of a potentially career-ending controversy.
You be the judge.
All we really be sure of at this point is that Johnny may have pulled off the nigh-impossible by beating out Ryan for the Dumbest Hipster Haircut in the Photo award.
A prestigious honor.