Johnny Depp has said he visits his private island in the Bahamas in a bid to “feel absolutely normal” and “escape the scrutiny”.
Reflecting on his connection to the island – named Little Hall’s Pond Cay – as he promoted Dior’s new line of Sauvage frangrances, Depp said it feels like a “sanctuary” where he can be free.
He told the South China Morning Post: “Where I feel the most myself in this world, and where I go to feel absolutely normal, I suppose, is my place in the Bahamas, because it’s an island and nobody’s looking at me.
“You’ve got to have some sanctuary, a safe place where you can escape the scrutiny and the interest of others, a place where you can just sit on a beach, read, paint, meditate or whatever, that’s freedom to me. That’s the only real freedom.”
He added that being in the ocean makes him feel refreshed, saying: “The idea of being under, just free in the ocean, with the wind pounding against you, the sun pounding down on you, and the shimmery ripples across the water, sparkles everywhere … It cleanses your mind.
“The thing that intrigues me most is the most basic, the simplest way of living. I don’t have a decadent lifestyle. Yes, everything boils down to real simplicity for me.
“When you’re on the island, you’re not at some swanky hotel. It doesn’t look like the Four Seasons or anything. It should look like what it is. It should look like a simple island house. Nothing grand, nothing. Just simplicity.”
Interestingly it was reported earlier this year that the Hollywood A-lister sold it to JK Rowling for a whopping $75 million, which appears to be debunked by his latest comments.
The 60-year-old has been under the microscope in recent years after being involved in a high-profile defamation case with his ex-wife Amber Heard over an op-ed in the Washington Post in which she implied that she was a victim of abuse.
Although she didn’t name her ex-husband in the article, he launched a lawsuit in 2019 arguing that he had been boycotted in Hollywood.
Heard then filed a counterclaim for defamation against Depp worth $100 million, accusing him of a smear campaign.
In the six-week court showdown, the jury heard many accounts of incidents that occurred while the pair were together. This included claims of violence as well as claims that Heard had defecated in his bed. In May 2022, a jury awarded Depp $15 million (£12.4 million) in damages.
