Johnny Depp Once Boasted About His Dental Imperfections: "I'm Proud of My Rotten Teeth"

Johnny Depp is living the best phase of his life at the Cannes Film Festival, with his comeback film, Jeanne du Barry, receiving a seven-minute standing ovation during its premiere. However, the Pirates of the Caribbean actor is also attracting negative attention over his "rotting teeth." According to Marca, fans were quick to express their repugnance over Depp's teeth, with a few of them even tweeting that the Hollywood veteran's teeth were "disgusting" and "ruining my mood."

Depp had, however, already addressed this issue decades ago, boasting about his "brown decaying teeth." “I’ve got loads of cavities, I had a root canal done eight years ago that’s unfinished. It’s like a rotten little stub,” he had bragged in an exclusive interview with Premiere Magazine in 1995. 

He said, “It’s like when the Indians would make something beaded, they would always put imperfections on it. I’m proud of these.” Depp also expressed his views about people having the perfect set of white teeth. He added, “When I see people with perfect teeth, it drives me up the wall. I’d rather swallow a tick than have that!” Meanwhile, fans pointed out and ridiculed his imperfect teeth, with one fan, @ka48329336 tweeting, "Johnny Depp’s teeth appear to be rotting." Another user @makiyak8 tweeted, "Seeing that pic of Johnny Depp’s teeth on my tl just ruined my mood. That’s enough Twitter for me."

Knowing that the Fantastic Beasts actor hates pearly white teeth, some fans even compared Depp's teeth with his ex-wife, Amber Heard's teeth. One Twitter user said, "notice how her teeth are 'white' unlike the crack fiend." while another user @MegSevinth blamed his condition on, "Rum, drugs, alimony."

Meanwhile, Depp's latest film Jeanne Du Barry scored well at the Cannes Film Festival despite him receiving severe backlash over his red-carpet appearance. Page Six reports that the Alice in Wonderland actor got emotional when the audience cheered for his performance as King Louis XV in the biographical drama. Depp was seen holding back his tears as he waved to the cheering audience from the Grand Théâtre Lumière balcony. The feature film's director and star, Maïwenn, sobbed while addressing the crowd. She said, “I want to share this moment with my lover, with my producer, with Le Pacte. It was a production that was difficult to finance … and I want to share this moment with all my team across the theater.”

Addressing Depp's presence at the prestigious festival and the defamation trial, Festival director Thierry Fremaux spoke to the media ahead of opening night. Fremaux said, “I don’t know about the image of Johnny Depp in the US. To tell you the truth, in my life, I only have one rule: It’s the freedom of thinking, and the freedom of speech and acting within a legal framework. If Johnny Depp had been banned from acting in a film, or the film was banned, we wouldn’t be here talking about it.”

He added, “This [controversy] came up once the film was announced at Cannes because everybody knew Johnny had made a film in France…I don’t know why she chose him but it’s a question you should ask Maïwenn. As for the rest, I’m the last person to be able to discuss all this. If there’s one person in this world who didn’t find the least interest in this very publicized trial, it’s me. I don’t know what it’s about. I also care about Johnny Depp as an actor.”

Editor's note: This article was originally published on May 19, 2023. It has since been updated.