Johnny Depp forced to apologize for rape comments
By Jeff MillsOctober 5th, 2011, 11:50 amComments (28)
Apparently, Johnny Depp can do wrong: during an interview with Vanity Fair, for which he's appearing on the November cover, Depp, talking about his feelings towards photo shoots, failed to choose his words wisely. He said:
"Well, you just feel like you're being raped somehow. Raped... It feels like a kind of weird... just weird, man... But whenever you have a photo shoot or something like that, its like — you just feel dumb."
In response to the provocative analogy, the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN) made the obvious point that, "While photos may feel at times intrusive, being photographed in no way compares to rape — a violent crime which affects another American every two minutes." The group went on to say that they welcomed the opportunity to speak with Depp, educate him about what survivors go through, and hopefully enlist his services in helping the organization.
Obviously not really meaning what he said, Depp acted quick to defuse the situation, apologizing late Tuesday, just as Twilight's Kristen Stewart had to ask forgiveness last year for similar remarks. Depp said:
"I am truly sorry for offending anyone in any way. I never meant to. It was a poor choice of words on my part in an effort to explain a feeling. I understand there is no comparison and I am very regretful. In an effort to correct my lack of judgment, please accept my heartfelt apology."
Comments ( 28 )
No way. You mean when he said that photo shoots felt like being raped, he didn't ACTUALLY mean it felt like being raped? My mind is blown.
Yeah. Rape sucks, no question about it, but shrill bickering over its application as a term doesn't really do anything to raise awareness about the issue -- it just makes people throw their hands up, roll their eyes and say "OK...Sorry. Jeez."
I completely agree with you!
Shrill bickering? Even if you don't think the group's point is valid, you have to admit that it's smart on the organization's part to take the opportunity to pair a celebrity with their cause in any form it can. They're just trying to promote awareness for their cause, which isn't necessarily the same thing as being overly sensitive.
Do people have 'photo shoot' fantasies?
Yes.
It's abundantly clear clear he was just using the phrase to make a colorful comment, and not being malicious in any way... this is oversensitivity.
The group isn't accusing him of malicious intent by making the comparison. They're drawing attention to the fact that it is an absurd analogy and that while he may feel violated during photo shoots, there are many more Americans who are ACTUALLY criminally violated, every two minutes. Rather than wallowing in the resentment he may feel towards a magazine that wants to take his picture, maybe we could focus on the epidemic of rape and figure out a way to prevent it.
We're all aware that he didn't mean any harm, it was just a somewhat thoughtless remark and RAINN is seizing the opportunity to bring awareness to the cause and educate the public.
Seems like a simple error by someone (paid to be) in the public eye, a reasonable and reasonably stated objection by a group with a clear and useful agenda, and an apparently sincere apology. I hope they get Mr Depp on the team as a result.
I'm just impressed that he made a real apology, rather than the usual celebrity/politician passive-aggressive apology of "I apologize if I somehow offended you."
I'm not saying it's right, but if you dress provocatively, you should expect to be raped. . . Wait, I meant photographed.
Glad an organization with credibility on the issue said something about this, and he issued a specific apology. I can't stand it when people -- especially male people -- use the word "rape" in a casual figurative way. It totally trivializes the actual experience, which is not okay. Powerful words should be reserved for powerful experiences. I guarantee you that no one who has ACTUALLY been raped would liken that experience to a vulnerability-capturing photo shoot, a tough bootcamp class, etc.
Yeah, I hate when people rape the English language like that. If they would just penetrate a little more, they could cum up with other words in which to hold oral intercourse with others. Or people could just lighten up and realize that nobody is really going to equate the two experiences.
For Christ's sake, do you ever shut up? Why don't you go to Jezebel and leave us alone?
shut up, bitch.
@to Dea. Fuck you. It's too bad Hooksexup has become overrun with young men with very little life experience. She's spot on when she says that the 1 out of 4 women who have actually been raped according to U.S. Department of Justice Statistics probably do not use the term casually.
I'm a woman, and I was raped.
On a related note -- this called to mind the movie Perfect Blue, in which there are really interesting parallels drawn between an exploitative photographer (and filmmaker) and rape.
Political correctness and hypersensitivity run amok.
The word "rape" is used constantly by a lot of people to convey its original meaning, which is to spoil or destroy. No one gets torqued when environmental groups talk about raping the environment, raping the rain forest, or when periods of brutal occupations are referred to as the rape of [place being brutally occupied]. Even in the legal context, perfectly consensual sex can be referred to as rape if one of the parties is under the age of consent. So there is no statis or "reserved" meaning for the word "rape" and the word does not belong to anyone or any group. This particular use was nonsensical hyperbole and Depp got called on it and he rightly apologized, but leave the language out of this fight. Every word belongs to everyone and no person or group has a claim to any of it.
Yes, let's add "murder" to the list. From now on, anyone who says, "I got murdered in there" after being grilled during, for instance, an interview or dissertation defense should be subjected to the disapproval Dea would deem appropriate. After all, no one who has actually been murdered would approve of such a use of the word.
You're killing me, Publius.
I'm SO sorry for my insensitivity. I should be raked over the coals for that. Please note I used "rake."
Publius, I think if you said it to someone whose brother had been murdered, they might in fact dislike the term used casually.
However, in our society murder is FAR rarer than rape (by like hundreds of multipliers) so I do think that counts for something.
Not according to crime statistics, nn.
https://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0004912.html, by way of evidence. In a couple of cases, (NH, MT) the rate is 10x but in most it appears to be ~5x. No where close to even 100x, let alone multiples of that.
so shooting a movie at 24 frames a second must feel like a real hammering. Or will that piss off the toolmakers of the world too.
I think many girls would like to tie johnny up and photoshoot him to death.
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