Hot off a favorable jury verdict in the wake of his long-time legal battle with Amber Heard, Johnny Depp is now sharing in his victory with the fans he credits for bringing him there after receiving a heartfelt painting.
Although Depp has previously expressed his relief with the decision and his gratitude for all who supported him in a statement shortly after the verdict , we’ve also seen a long history of him cultivating a more intimate relationship with his fans as they waited outside the courthouse every day the trial took place.
Whether he was joking with them as Captain Jack Sparrow or making breakfast for them , he’s made it clear that their passion was deeply appreciated. And in turn, they came away even more entrenched in the belief that he was not only innocent, but as great as they imagined him to be.
And after that perception inspired a heartfelt and detailed painting, the artist responsible found not only viral recognition for his work, but a golden opportunity to bring it to the man himself.
In a TikTok uploaded on May 25, a British artist named Scott R. Greenwood recorded himself completing a portrait meant to show the pain that Depp has experienced since being accused of domestic violence by Heard.
That was clear not only from the fact that it was preceded by footage of Depp saying he’s lost everything during a court statement, but also in the words we can see here behind Depp’s head.
In addition to “justice,” it said, “You’ll never see my eyes again.”
In a comment on his original video, Greenwood made a statement of celebration after the clip went viral (it has amassed 6.4 million views at the time of this writing) and let fans know that while the original was sold, prints were available to buy.
And almost two weeks later, Greenwood showed that his painting got him further than he ever would have expected in a follow-up released on June 5.
Although he was coy about how this meeting took place, he immediately made it clear that he was able to bring his painting to Depp in person in the stairwell of an unknown building.
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And while it was a little hard to make out Depp’s reaction to the piece, what was clear was that he appreciated the work and skill that went into it.
Moreover, a captioned reupload of the video that Greenwood put on Twitter showed that Depp thought it was “mad” that the artist managed to capture some of his head’s tiniest details.
After Greenwood proudly declared that he and his supporters had succeeded in getting the painting to Depp, he thanked his viewers for generating enough buzz to capture the movie star’s attention in the first place.
This message compelled Depp to express his own gratitude to his devotees, saying, “Nothing would have been possible without you. Thank you, bless you all.”
And as we can see here, Greenwood was further impressed how gentle Depp was during the rest of their time together.
Not only did they exchange a hug with Depp staying to chat with him for a while after receiving the painting, but he also signed some of Greenwood’s prints.
As the artist put it, “Johnny was literally the nicest guy I’ve ever met.”
h/t: Twitter | @ScottRGreenwood
