Dakota Johnson Defends Former Co-Stars Accused Of Rape, Calls Cancel Culture A “Fucking Downer”
"I think there’s definitely a major overcorrection happening."
The internet’s favourite Hollywood actress Dakota Johnson has given a trainwreck interview in which she called cancel culture a “fucking downer” and defended the likes of Shia LaBeouf and Armie Hammer.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter entitled Why Dakota Johnson Is Hollywood’s Heiress Apparent, the Green Kitchen owner spoke at length about her relationship with Coldplay’s Chris Martin and her life as Hollywood’s poster child for nepotism.
For those unfamiliar, Johnson is the daughter of actors Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson, and the granddaughter of Hollywood royalty Tippi Hedren — who rose to fame after appearing in numerous Alfred Hitchcock films. Oh, and her former stepfather is Antonio Banderas of Spy Kids and Shrek 2 fame (yes, I know he did other things too but honestly, you can’t compete with Spy Kids). So, while we know her best for dunking on Ellen and having a nice kitchen, her privilege in Hollywood runs deep.
Throughout the interview, Johnson discusses her former co-stars Armie Hammer, Shia LaBeouf and Johnny Depp — who have collectively been accused of domestic violence, sexual, physical and emotional abuse, and rape.
“I never experienced that firsthand from any of those people,” Dakota said of the men.“I had an incredible time working with them; I feel sad for the loss of great artists. I feel sad for people needing help and perhaps not getting it in time. I feel sad for anyone who was harmed or hurt. It’s just really sad.
“I do believe that people can change. I want to believe in the power of a human being to change and evolve and get help and help other people.”
“I think there’s definitely a major overcorrection happening,” she said. “But I do believe that there’s a way for the pendulum to find the middle. The way that studios have been run up until now, and still now, is behind.”
“It is such an antiquated mindset of what movies should be made, who should be in them, how much people should get paid, what equality and diversity look like. Sometimes the old school needs to be moved out for the new school to come in. But, yeah, cancel culture is such a fucking downer. I hate that term,” she concluded in the interview.
It simply cannot be stressed enough that allegations of violence and abuse in Hollywood have historically had very little impact on the careers of the alleged perpetrators. Although Harvey Weinstein and R. Kelly were eventually brought to justice, there are dozens of men — including LaBeouf and Depp — who continue to work in Hollywood to this day, despite the slew of allegations against them.
There are the allegations we all remember — like those against James Franco, Ed Westwick and Kevin Spacey — and those you may not have ever heard — like Morgan Freeman and Ben Affleck. But the common theme here is that all of these men still work in the entertainment industry, despite these allegations.
Junkee does not assert any of these men are guilty of the allegations against them, but the fact that their careers have come out the other side of these claims relatively unscathed is proof that “cancel culture” really isn’t causing the damage Johnson — and others — think it is.
Photo Credit: Samir Hussein/WireImage