It’s a tough gig maintaining your cool when your celebrity crush turns out to be less Prince Charming and more… well, let’s just say it’s complicated.
Once the poster boy for the swashbuckling charm and off-beat allure, Johnny Depp has found himself more in the eye of public scrutiny than any storm his beloved Jack Sparrow ever sailed. Between the messy public trial with Amber Heard, the revelations of his less-than-charming behavior on sets, and his bromance with a problematic Saudi prince, it’s fair to say he’s been demoted from beloved A-lister to Hollywood’s bad boy — a title that feels more cringey than cool as the years stack up.
But as much as we may love to hate on the guy now, I have to admit, he did get one thing right: his scathing takedown of Donald Trump. In a recently resurfaced video from a 2016 conversation with Arizona State’s Origins Project founder Lawrence Krauss, Depp shared some choice words about then-candidate Trump that were spot-on.
“He’s a brat,” Depp declared of the spray-tanned reality star turned aspiring politician. “His sentences travel to absurd places.” I mean, where is the lie? Donald Trump can barely string together a complete sentence, let alone articulate a clear policy position. In a recent interview, the Orange Menace himself did a complete 180 on his immigration stance. Suddenly, he’s all about handing out automatic green cards to foreign students who graduate from U.S. colleges. Why? Because it’s the election season, and the narcissistic man is scrambling to promise the moon and the stars if it means a ticket back to the White House.
Johnny Depp is also right about Trump’s words taking us to absurd places. Trump’s rambling speeches and interviews were (and still are) the stuff of legend. And no, I am not just talking about his xenophobic rants or his favorite “rigged elections” chorus. If you have ever dared to sit through one of his campaign rallies ( that’s a big “if”), you would know that Trump can veer off into some truly bizarre territories—like one of those genius stories where he ponders whether it’s better to stay on a sinking boat and risk electrocution or jump into shark-infested waters. Seriously, is this what a presidential candidate needs to be talking about?
The point is, Johnny Depp may be a hot mess these days, but he was right about Trump. At the end of the day, celebrity opinions can only carry so much weight. It’s up to all of us to stay vigilant and to call out Trump’s mindless ramblings and hypocrisy at every turn.