Dior draws backlash for airing fragrance commercial starring Johnny Depp

Dior is under fire after airing a cologne commercial starring Johnny Depp.

A Dior ad for its Sauvage fragrance, which stars Depp playing an electric guitar, was shown during an episode of 'The Great British Bake Off' that aired Tuesday in the UK.

A spokesperson for the Advertising Standards Authority, a body responsible for regulating ads in the UK, told The Guardian that after Depp's Dior ad was aired on Tuesday, it received 11 complaints from viewers that were all related to Depp's presence in the commercial.

"We have received a total of 11 complaints about this ad, with the complainants believing that Johnny Depp shouldn't be in the ad due to details concerning his recent court case," a spokesperson for the Advertising Standards Authority said.

Depp has been the face of the French luxury brand's cologne since 2015 and has starred in a number of ad spots for the Dior fragrance line. The actor came under scrutiny the next year when actress Amber Heard filed for divorce in and alleged Depp had physically abused her throughout their relationship. Depp denied the allegations and their divorce was finalized in 2017. 

While the advertisement garnered criticism from some, fans of the actor took to Twitter to share a #JusticeForJohnnyDepp hashtag and applaud Dior for not appearing to drop the actor from the campaign.

On November 2, it was announced that Johnny Depp lost his libel case against the publishers of the UK newspaper The Sun over a 2018 article that described him as a "wife beater." Soon after he was dropped from his 'Fantastic Beasts' role as Grindelwald.

Also read: UK court denies Johnny Depp permission to appeal against libel case judgement

The Sun cited Heard's allegations that Depp had assaulted her 14 times, and Heard said that the abuse was heavily influenced by the actor's drug and alcohol use, according to the Associated Press. 

Following the announcement of the verdict of Depp's case, the actor wrote in a typed, which that he shared on Instagram, that he was asked by Warner Bros. to resign from his role as the villain of the "Fantastic Beasts" franchise. Actor Mads Mikkelson will replace Depp in the forthcoming 'Fantastic Beasts 3.'
 

In 2019, an ad for Dior's Sauvage campaign that also starred Depp garnered backlash and was eventuallyy pulled back after people criticized it for including what they described as stereotypical portrayals of Native Americans.

Depp later defended the advertisement to the Hollywood Reporter saying, "The film was made with a great respect for the indigenous people not just of North America but all over the world."