Johnny Depp has announced he’s going on tour with his rock band, the Hollywood Vampires, in the wake of his court case with ex-wife Amber Heard. The supergroup — which also features Joe Perry of Aerosmith, Alice Cooper and Tommy Henriksen — will be heading overseas in 2023 for a string of concert dates in Germany and Luxembourg. At this time the band does not have any stateside tour dates on the books.
The news comes just over a year after the Hollywood Vampires had to cancel a previous overseas tour. In March 2021, they canceled a European tour, citing pandemic travel restrictions as the cause. “We are beyond disappointed to announce that the Hollywood Vampires must cancel our rescheduled U.K./European tour this summer,” the band said at the time. “We kept trying to make it happen, but unfortunately due to the uncertainty of COVID-19 travel restrictions, it is just not possible.” The group then added, “Thank you for understanding, and we WILL be back rocking with you once the world returns to normal!”
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The tour news comes less than a month after the end of Depp’s defamation trial against Heard. On Wednesday, June 2, the trial jury delivered their verdict, ruling that the actress defamed her ex in a 2018 Washington Post op-ed about domestic abuse, in which he was not explicitly named. In her first statement after the ruling, Heard wrote, “The disappointment I feel today is beyond words. I’m heartbroken that the mountain of evidence still was not enough to stand up to the disproportionate power, influence and sway of my ex-husband.”
“I’m even more disappointed with what this verdict means for other women. It is a setback,” she continued. “It sets back the clock to a time when a woman who spoke up and spoke out could be publicly shamed and humiliated. It sets back the idea that violence against women is to be taken seriously.”
“I believe Johnny’s attorneys succeeded in getting the jury to overlook the key issue of Freedom of Speech and ignore evidence that was so conclusive that we won in the U.K.,” Heard added. “I’m sad I lost this case. But I am sadder still that I seem to have lost a right I thought I had as an American – to speak freely and openly.” The actress and her legal team plan to appeal the verdict.
