Another Famous Person Gave Johnny Depp a Stage

And unfortunately, it was Patti Smith.

By Audra Heinrichs | October 14, 2025 | 3:14pm

Photo Credit: Dave Benett/Getty Images for Stella McCartney Celebrities

Another Famous Person Gave Johnny Depp a Stage

Over the weekend, Patti Smith invited a special guest to join her onstage in London for the 50th anniversary celebration of Horses, her debut studio album. Given her roster of famous friends and collaborators—from Bruce Springsteen (who wrote “Because the Night”) to Bono (a frequent stage cameo)—I imagine Smith’s decision-making process is pretty tough for an event like that, but alas. She chose perhaps the worst person to play with her: Johnny Depp.

On Sunday, Smith invited Depp (who sued The Sun, the British tabloid, after it referred to him as “wife-beater” but lost the case) to perform “People Have The Power” (the irony!) at her show. As she began her encore, Smith introduced her entire band to the audience, adding: “And Johnny? And Johnny Depp? The original Johnny.” So, not only did Depp get an opportunity to play with the legendary singer, but also an unnecessarily flattering reference to her 1975 track, “Land: Horses / Land of a Thousand Dances / La Mer.” How nice for this horrible man.

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Unfortunately, this is hardly the only stage Depp has been given since his 2022 defamation trial from hell in which he was accused of horrific abuse. He played guitar for the late Jeff Beck on his tour in 2022, before releasing an album together. More recently, Depp paid tribute to Ozzy Osbourne alongside Alice Cooper in July at London’s O2 Arena.

That is all, of course, excluding his Savage X Fenty show cameo (2022); the surprise appearance he made at the MTV Video Music Awards (2022); the tour with his band, Hollywood Vampires (2023); and his art exhibit in New York City (2024). Oh, and then there’s the film Depp directed, Modi: Three Days on the Wing of Madness, which received a standing ovation when it premiered at Italy’s San Sebastián International Film Festival in July. And his upcoming film, Day Drinker, which is slated for a 2026 release. You get it. Despite everything, Depp has stayed employable and employed, and welcome among the rich and famous creative class.

But according to him, his life was ruined after the trial: “I’ll tell you what hurts. There are people, and I’m thinking of three, who did me dirty. Those people were at my kids’ parties. Throwing them in the air,” Depp told The Times in June. “And, look, I understand people who could not stand up [for me] because the most frightening thing to them was making the right choice.”

He continued the rant, saying: “I was pre-#MeToo. I was like a crash test dummy for #MeToo. It was before Harvey Weinstein. And I sponged it, took it all in. And so I wanted from the hundreds of people I’ve met in that industry to see who was playing it safe. Better go woke!”

I’m no longer surprised by industry figures’ allegiances to Bad Men™. But as a fan of Smith’s, I am terribly disappointed. She could’ve chosen almost literally anyone else—at least an actual musician, not someone who cosplays one in his vanity project. That she didn’t, and instead chose someone who once “joked” about killing and raping his then-girlfriend via text message, will now forever be an asterisk to her artistry that never had to be there at all.

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