Historical drama 'Jeanne Du Barry' starring Johnny Depp as King Louis XV will open the 76th Cannes Film Festival. Photo: AP
Dior will continue to sell men on the idea that they can smell like Johnny Depp, inking a massive, US$20mil (RM89.9mil) deal with the actor, a year after his reputation was put on trial in a lurid defamation case against his ex-wife Amber Heard, who had accused him of being an abusive husband.
The French luxury house may feel that its support of Depp has been vindicated by the actor's victory in his defamation lawsuit.
So, possibly for that reason, Dior is rewarding Depp with a three-year fragrance deal "at upwards of US$20mil," Variety reported.
This deal marks the highest ever pact for a men's fragrance, Variety added.
It eclipses Robert Pattinson's US$12mil (RM53.9mil) deal to serve as a spokesperson for Dior Homme and is nearly three times the US$7mil (RM31.4mil) that Brad Pitt received to promote Chanel No. 5.
Since 2015, the Pirates Of The Caribbean star has served as the face of Dior Sauvage, with an ad campaign that "leaned into his image as a wild rocker," Variety said.
Dior Sauvage is a line of men's products that includes perfume, shaving gel, deodorant and moisturiser. Depp's online fans were happy about the news that he'll continue to represent the fragrance.
'Profound and authentic, #JohnnyDepp is the soul of Sauvage" #Dior
Johnny will always be its perfect fragrance ambassador...#ThankYouDior #JohnnyDeppKeepsWinning
— Savvy? ☠️ (@Savvy_CapJackie)
Like Disney and Warner Bros, Dior faced pressure to drop Depp after a British court in 2021 came to pretty much the opposite conclusion as the Virginia jury that heard last year's defamation case.
The British court ruled against Depp in his libel suit against the British tabloid The Sun, over its description of him as a "wife beater" with regards to Heard's domestic violence allegations.
Amid Depp's legal troubles, Disney said they would not cast him in any new Pirates movies.
After the ruling in the British case, Depp resigned from Warner Bros' Fantastic Beasts franchise, while The Hollywood Reporter called the one-time heartthrob and top box-office draw "persona non grata" in the film industry.
But Dior held fast to its support for Depp, and Variety reported that his image and marketability has improved since he prevailed in the closely-watched defamation trial, which was live-streamed online.
At the end of the trial, a seven-member jury found that Heard had defamed Depp when she wrote a 2018 Washington Post op-ed and described herself as a survivor of domestic violence. The jury awarded him US$10mil in compensatory damages plus US$5mil in punitive damages.
Still, testimony in the trial included revelations about Depp's drug use and heavy drinking against the backdrop of a luxe, self-indulgent lifestyle.
In that way, the trial may have fed the wild rocker image that appeals to Dior.
Bernard Arnault, the CEO of LVMH, the multinational luxury goods conglomerate that owns Dior, said earlier this year that Dior Sauvage has been "a leader in perfume sales" thanks in large part to the "image of Johnny Depp," the Daily Beast reported.
The Dior deal could signal Depp's comeback in movies.
While he has yet to book a major US film yet, he stars in Jeanne Du Barry, a French historical drama about the life of Louis XV's mistress, which is set to open the Cannes Festival this week.
Depp plays the French king. He is expected to attend a Dior dinner on Wednesday (May 17) before travelling to London for a Jeff Beck tribute, where he will perform alongside Eric Clapton and Rod Stewart. – Silicon Valley/Tribune News Service
