ונאַנסעלעד: די וועלט ריאַקץ צו די וומאַ אויסזען פון Johnny Depp

The iconic MTV Moonman dates back to the birth of the music channel in 1981, when it launched with actual footage of a launch! The MTV original broadcast showed the Apollo 11 space shuttle blasting off the ground and pictured an astronaut planting a flag with the MTV logo on the moon.

Twitter exploded with the hashtags #JohnnyDeppRisesVMA and #MoonManDepp trending. The 59-year-old Depp wasn’t actually flying around the stage — instead, his face was projected onto the helmet where he delivered pre-recorded and self-deprecating one-liners.

The surprise came when the astronaut’s visor suddenly lifted to reveal the Pirates of the Caribbean actor, who told the audience, “You know what? I needed the work!” He then added that he was available for “birthdays, bar mitzvahs, bat mitzvahs, weddings, wakes, anything old thing you need — anything!”

Johnny Depp has been a Hollywood outcast since his ex-wife Amber Heard accused him of physically and sexually abusing her. He was labeled as a “wife-beater” by the media, and when he tried to defend himself by suing the newspaper, he lost in a UK court with a judge believing Amber Heard.

His career was seemingly over, he was booted from the Fantastic Beasts franchise and Pirates of the Caribbean, and his last talk show appearance was in 2017.

It changed in April this year; the famous Depp v Heard defamation trial began in the Fairfax County courthouse in Virginia. Depp sued his ex-wife for defamation relating to a Washington Post op-ed she wrote about being a survivor of domestic violence.

Amber Heard countersued, but Depp won, with the jury unequivocally finding the accusations of domestic abuse false and malicious. As a result, Depp was awarded over $10 million in damages.

Despite his clear victory in the courtroom, many still wondered if he could revive his career, particularly considering the amount of dirty laundry aired during the trial.

However, it looks like Hollywood and the music industry is happy to put money on the actor who brought Captain Jack Sparrow to life.

The media’s response?

It’s no secret that most of the mainstream media are not Johnny Depp fans — to the contrary, we saw many outlets support Amber Heard during the trial. Even afterward, the media twisted the verdict to fit their politically correct narrative.

This time the media tried to speak for the public, insinuating that people were unhappy with the Depp cameo. The Independent quoted “Creepy and out of touch” in their headline, and Cosmopolitan scolded the actor with a hand-picked selection of tweets, such as “this is disgusting” and “honestly f**k the VMA’s form including Johnny Depp.”

In reality?

See for yourself, but like during the trial, the overall response on social media was firmly in favor of Depp. Hashtags #JohnnyDeppRisesVMA and #MoonManDepp sat atop the Twitter news feed, similarly to how #JusticeForJohnnyDepp swamped the internet during the trial.