Johnny Depp’s life has certainly seen its fair share of extreme highs and lows. Though he is one of the most successful actors, He has an extremely impressive career through his work in projects like The Pirate of the Caribbean, The Tourist, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Edward Scissorhands. Through works like this, he has established himself as a truly exceptionally talented individual, something he has been awarded for time and time again, including being nominated for Academy Awards.
However, as much positive attention as he received for his professional achievements, he received an equal amount of negative attention in his personal life. With his known history of substance abuse and a reputation as Hollywood’s ‘bad boy,’ it is no surprise that there are certainly a vast number of things that can be used as examples of why he received the negative media attention that he did. The 90s, however, were especially brutal on Depp, who chased, paparazzi photographers with a plank of the word down the streets of London.
Johnny Depp Had A String of Controversies in the 90s
The 90s did not start very well for Johnny Depp. In 1993, River Phoenix, a well-known, actor and musician, passed away due to an apparent drug overdose. This happened at The Viper Room, one of Depp’s nightclubs, situated in Los Angeles. After this happened, the Oscar-nominated actor and his friends were subjected to quite a lot of scrutiny by the hands of the media, trying to paint them in a negative light after this tragedy. A year after that, in 1994, the actor was on the front page again, this time, for getting arrested.
“In 1993, actor River Phoenix died of an apparent drug overdose at Johnny’s Los Angeles nightclub, The Viper Room, and Johnny and his partners were subjected to no small amount of unflattering tabloid scrutiny following the tragic incident. A hotel habitué, he made headlines in 1994 when he was arrested for trashing the presidential suite at Manhattan’s Mark Hotel, although all charges against him were dropped after he agreed to pay for over two thousand dollars’ worth of damages.”
As mentioned in the book The Secret World of Johnny Depp, the reason for this was the fact that he had trashed the presidential sweet at the Mark Hotel, located in Manhattan. These charges were eventually dropped after the actor agreed to pay for all of the damages that he had caused, the total of which came up to around two thousand dollars. This wasn’t the end of it, as his 1993 split with Stranger Things act, actress, Winona Ryder, caused media outlets to stir with anticipation for a new story.
Johnny Depp Chased Paparazzi
Johnny Depp and Winona Ryder worked together on the Tim Burton classic, Edward Scissorhands, after which the two got engaged. This lasted for three years until they eventually parted ways. After this happened, the actor had gotten a tattoo to honor his relationship with the actress and had to get it removed, which also managed to make front-page news.
“Another distraction, without doubt, was the 1993 breakup of his three-year engagement to his Edward Scissorhands co-star, Winona Ryder, in the wake of which Johnny had to have his ‘Winona Forever’ tattoo removed. But perhaps the most distracting incident of all came in 1999. As I readied my manuscript for the first edition of this book, Johnny was arrested for chasing paparazzi photographers with a plank of wood through the streets Mayfair in London’s West End, which seemed to make him even less interested in co-operating with a biography about himself.”
It would seem that this constant invasion by the media into his life was something that was getting to him, as the next thing that the actor did, can only be described as extreme. In 1999, Johnny Depp was arrested again, this time the offense was a lot more serious. He was arrested for chasing, paparazzi, photographers down the streets of Mayfair, in London, West End, with a wooden plank in his hands.
