Fashion companies have been the target of cultural appropriation or insensitivity allegations as of late, and recently Johnny Depp's campaign with Dior has been under fire. Dior released the teaser for their fragrance Sauvage, a French word that is translated to "wild" or "natural" in English. In the Jean-Baptiste Mondino-directed campaign video clip, Depp is shown playing his guitar in the desert as a Native American/Indigenous war dancer is seen performing in his traditional garb. The backlash was swift and Dior immediately pulled the ad.
While at the Deauville Film Festival, Depp shared his thoughts about the reaction, saying that everyone is working on creating an alternative campaign that is less offensive to the public. “A teaser obviously is a very concentrated version of images and there were objections to the teaser of the small film. The film has never been seen,” he stated, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
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“There was never — and how could there be or how would there be — any dishonorable [intent]," Depp continued. "The film was made with a great respect for the indigenous people not just of North America but all over the world. It's a pity that people jumped the gun and made these objections. However, their objections are their objections."
The actor added that Dior's creative team has linked with Indigenous organizations to come up with imagery that will be deemed as more acceptable. “I can assure you that no one has any reason to go out to try to exploit. It was a film made out of great respect and with great respect and love for the Native American peoples to bring light to them," he added. "They haven't had the greatest amount of help out of the United States government. The idea is as pure as it ever was, so we will come to an agreement so that everyone is happy.”
