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Johnny Depp’s Divorce Causes Problems For Christian Dior, While Amber Heard Tries To Double The Settlement Amount

By Stacey Cole
Published on: 05:45 PST, Sep 7, 2016

Johnny Depp’s divorce settlement is causing quite the embarrassment for Christian Dior, the perfume house that hired the Pirates of the Caribbean star to endorse its Sauvage Cologne.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the famous fashion house has come under fire from some of its Australian consumers for launching their Sauvage nationwide promotion campaign at the time when Amber Heard, Johnny Depp’s ex-wife, has been granted a divorce after she accused the actor of domestic violence.

The Christian Dior advertisement featuring Johnny Depp was launched nationwide, and the ad was also featured in the latest issue of the Australian Financial Review magazine. Simultaneously, David Jones, Australia’s upscale departmental store, flashed the advertisement outside its menswear store in Sydney.

Some of Australia’s academics have criticized Christian Dior for being insensitive to public emotions. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Dr. Andrew Hughes, a lecturer who teaches marketing at one of Australia’s best-known business schools, spoke about the implications of the ill-timed marketing campaign.

“It looks cheap. It looks like they don’t care about the market. With this advertisement, Dior are essentially saying ‘I’m out of touch’.”

The actor’s former spouse had earlier obtained a restraining order against Johnny Depp, and the domestic dispute garnered widespread media attention, in large part thanks to the production of videos and images that depicted the Edward Scissorhands actor turning violent while confronting his former partner.

Amber Heard withdrew her claims after the divorce settlement was finalized, but for Johnny Depp and for Christian Dior, the damage was already done. Dr. Hughes warns businesses not to overlook the impact of the internet in today’s connected world as negative publicity on social media can harm their brands.

This is not the first time that the Johnny Depp-endorsed brand has landed in trouble. Previously, Women’s Aid, a UK-based organization that works against domestic violence, had raised protests against Christian Dior for collaborating with “tainted” actors like Johnny Depp. According to Mashable, a spokesperson for Women’s Aid had issued a statement that had indirectly labeled Johnny Depp as a “perpetrator.”

“If the allegations of domestic abuse are proven to be true, we would hope that a responsible fashion house would not continue to work with a perpetrator.”

Apart from Johnny Depp, the cologne’s brand name and caption used in the advertisement have played a key role in adding fuel to the fire. Sauvage, the name of the cologne that means “wild” in French, has started to give rise to different connotations. Additionally, the caption, that reads “Wild at heart,” has evoked images of Johnny Depp’s alleged domestic violence in the minds of prospective consumers.

Even though the Hollywood couple has claimed to have divorced each other amicably, the $7 million divorce settlement has become problematic for Johnny Depp. Earlier, Amber Heard announced her decision to use the majority of the huge amount to fund the American Civil Liberties Union’s efforts to curb violence against women. Additionally, the actress wanted to use a part of the settlement amount to finance the Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles. Now, Motto reports that Heard has accused Johnny Depp of misusing the divorce agreement to get a tax break as the Dark Shadows star has declared that he will be paying $3.5 million directly to each of the charities in multiple installments, instead of paying the settlement funds directly to his ex-wife.

According to News Australia, the model is clearly enraged by Johnny Depp’s change of stance, and her team has issued a statement that directs the Black Mass actor to make a donation that is double the settlement amount.

“If Johnny wishes to change the settlement agreement, we must insist that he honor the full amount by donating $US 14 million to charity, which after accounting for his tax deduction, is equal to his $US 7 million.”

Additionally, Heard’s legal representatives are insisting that Johnny Depp makes the full payments immediately to the charities rather than releasing the amount in installments over a period of time.

[Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP Images]

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