Fresh off a legal victory in a widely publicized defamation court battle with his ex-wife amber heard, Johnny Depp appeared at the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards on August 28.

The surprising cameo, in which his face appeared inside a floating moon man during the show’s opening, marked the most high-profile public appearance in years for the pirates of the Caribbean star, whose career has stalled amid his legal disputes. But it’s clear he’s trying to make a comeback: Earlier this month, he signed a seven-figure Dior endorsement deal.

While Depp, 59, was promoting the Italian animated series puffins in Europe last October and continued his musical career by performing with his group hollywood vampires and more recently, teaming up with British rock musician Jeff Beck On tour this summer, the star had not attended an event in the United States to celebrate his acting projects since he made a surprise appearance at the Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald panel at Comic-Con 2018.

The actor eventually gave up on the upcoming sequel in the harry potter Warner Bros.’ prequel series application after losing a libel case against a UK newspaper that had labeled him a “wife beater”, a charge he denied.

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