Adeyemi Matthew


Johnny Depp made a surprise appearance at the 2022 MTV VMAs Sunday night, nearly three months after the verdict in his defamation trial with ex-wife Amber Heard.

The actor, 59, appeared in a brief cameo toward the beginning of the show, with his face digitally superimposed into the helmet of a floating moonperson.

"And you know what? I needed the work," Depp told the crowd at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. He appeared again as the show came back from commercial, quipping, "Hey VMAs, let's get back to the f—ing music, shall we?"

It marks the latest appearance by the actor in an apparent comeback into the public sphere, after his victory in the multimillion dollar lawsuit against his ex-wife Amber Heard.

In subsequent virtual appearances at the VMAs ceremony, Depp declared that he was available for “birthdays, bar mitzvahs, bat mitzvahs, weddings, wakes, anything you need … anything.

“Oh, I’m also a dentist,” he added.

“Hey VMAs, let’s get back to the fucking music, shall we?” he said in another appearance.

It was recently announced that Depp is set to direct his first feature film in 25 years with Modi, about the Italian painter and sculptor Amedeo Modigliani.

The announcement came a week after Depp confirmed his first starring role since claiming victory in the legal battle in Fairfax County, Virginia, earlier this year: as King Louis XV in the French film Jeanne Du Barry.

Depp is also a musician, having formed the band Hollywood Vampires with Alice Cooper and Aerosmith’s Joe Perry in 2015. While awaiting the verdict in the trial, Depp made several appearances alongside musician Jeff Beck in the UK, at venues in London, Newcastle and Glasgow. The pair released an album in July.

Earlier in August, Depp's upcoming return to acting was revealed when WhyNotProductions and France Télévisions shared the first look at his character King Louis XV in the period drama Jeanne du Barry. The film is directed by French director Maïwenn, who will also star. Filming for the production began last month in multiple locations in France, including Versailles and Paris.

The film follows the story of the King of France's last royal mistress Jeanne du Barry, who was born into poverty but managed to climb the social ladder using her intelligence to become Louis XV's favorite companion.

Depp is also stepping behind the camera for the first time in over two decades as director of the upcoming film Modigliani.