Dakota Johnson Calls Cancel Culture a ‘F*cking Downer,’ Speaks Out on Co-Stars Armie Hammer, Shia LaBeouf, Johnny Depp

Miikka Skaffari, Jon Kopaloff, Amy Sussman, Srdjan Stevanovic/Getty Images

Dakota Johnson spoke out on the allegations made against her former co-stars Armie Hammer, Shia LaBeouf, and Johnny Depp, calling cancel culture a “fucking downer.”

Johnson sat down for an interview with the Hollywood Reporter this week, in which she shared she had an “incredible time” working with each actor, adding, “I feel sad for the loss of great artists.”

“I never experienced that firsthand from any of those people,” she said of the misconduct alleged about her costars, adding, “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.”

The actress had previously worked with Hammer on The Social Network and Wounds, LaBeouf on The Peanut Butter Falcon, and Depp on Black Mass.

“I do believe that people can change,” she added. “I want to believe in the power of a human being to change and evolve and get help and help other people.”

Johnson went on to admit that she believes a “major overcorrection” is happening when it comes to holding people accountable, saying that she still thinks “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,” she said. “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.”

Depp has been accused of both verbal and physical abuse by his ex-wife Amber Heard, losing a libel case against the publisher of Britain’s The Sun, as the British High Court ruled that there was “overwhelming evidence” that the actor is a “wife-beater.”

LaBeouf is currently being sued by his ex-girlfriend FKA twigs, who accused the actor of sexual battery, assault, and emotional abuse, while Hammer has been accused of rape and abuse by an alleged former partner. Instagram user House of Effie leaked explicit messages allegedly sent by Hammer, in which he detailed violent kinks, including cannibalism, and rape fantasies.