Johnny Depp is clearly a disaster these days. We already knew that, even before his Rolling Stone profile confirmed it. But I’d be willing to bet he’s also a really sh-tty father too. Let’s face it: Vanessa Paradis has almost entirely raised Lily-Rose and Jack on her own. Johnny has been a largely absentee father for years. He’s currently touring Europe and Russia with his cover band, The Hollywood Vampires. Meanwhile, his 16-year-old son is seriously ill, to the point where Vanessa is changing up her schedule:
Vanessa Paradis reportedly missed her latest film’s opening to be with her 16-year-old son Jack Depp. The French musician and actress, 45, was absent from the Paris premiere of her movie A Knife in the Heart on Tuesday where director Yann Gonzalez announced that she was with her son. According to the director, Jack, who she had with Johnny Depp, is sick.
“Unfortunately, Vanessa Paradis was not able to join us tonight, she had to be absent because of her son’s serious health problems,” the film’s director said at the screening, according to French outlet Public.
Representatives for Depp and Paradis have not responded to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
Paradis and Depp dated from 1998 to 2012 and had two kids — 19-year-old Lily-Rose Depp and Jack, whose real name is John Christopher Depp III.
The news come as Depp is currently in Europe touring with his band The Hollywood Vampires. The band, which includes rock legends Joe Perry of Aerosmith fame, and Alice Cooper, has been globetrotting with stops in Russia and Germany.
“Johnny is having a great time on the tour playing with the guys,” a source told PEOPLE of the actor.
While Lily-Rose has been on red carpets since a tender age, Jack has not. I’ve gotten the feeling, in the past, that Jack does have some kind of long-standing health issue, something that keeps him largely out of the public eye. That wouldn’t be notable in the least except that Lily-Rose is everywhere, and she has been everywhere for years, since she was 14 or 15, walking red carpets and modeling. It’s possible that Jack Depp is just more of a regular kid as compared to his sister. But I do wonder if Vanessa hasn’t been dealing with Jack’s long-standing health problems on her own now for years.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
That’s true, I cant even remember if I have ever seen this child. Maybe he doesnt want to be in the spotlight?
But way typical of Hollywood *and often real life* that moms are changing up their schedules for kids and dads aren’t.
I saw a pic of him once and I also think he have an illness. I hope Jack gets better soon.
Not necessarily – I remember years ago when Lily-Rose was seriously ill, whichever movie Johnny was filming was halted until she recovered.
He’s not the star of the band and BTW, at that time he was sane. I don’t see him as someone who can help his son or Vanessa now.
If anyone needs help, it’s Depp. And he had to go on tour when his mum died. The only time i remember a band cancelled was when l’wrenn scott killed herself and the stones postponed Australia tour.
The movie was Sweeney Todd. She had blood poisoning from stepping on a rusty tack and nearly died if i remember correctly.
Showing up once for your daughter in intensive care is not the same thing as being a persistently present and actively involved father.
**Pedant’s corner** – Lily-Rose had sepsis, which sounds similar but is quite different from blood poisoning. It’s the body over-reacting to a bacterial infection. Blood-poisoning/septicaemia has been phased out in favour of the more accurate ‘bacteriaema’, which refers to the presence of bacteria in the blood. Usually your white blood cells and immune system takes care of the infection, but sometimes it just happens.
I only say this because I’ve had sepsis twice now, and being able to differentiate and spot the signs of sepsis can be a huge factor in survival rates. The mortality rate for sepsis is distressingly high; https://sepsistrust.org/education/.
There’s a handy mnemonic to identify the symptoms –
Slurred speech or confusion
Extreme shivering or muscle pain
Passing no urine (in a day)
Severe breathlessness
It feels like you’re going to die
Skin mottled or discoloured.
This has been pedant’s medical corner, I’ll get back in my box now!
His son is sick and he is having great time on tour. This speaks for itself.
My best wishes to the Kudos, he’s got mum on his side.
That’s what stood out to me, too. Disgusting.
Its not like he can just cancel the tour. It happens only if someone dies, it’s a band not a one man show.
I don’t doubt he loves his kids, but he’s messed up and sorry, but they are better without him now.
Yes. Often times we can’t get out of work commitments to acommodate the family member who is ill. It is the “having a great time” that pisses me off.
Depp is not the only big name on the tour, he’s just an actor playing at being a rock star with proper rock stars like Alice Cooper. Am sure he can easily pull out and it would not affect the tour or shows, a replacement could be found easily.
The fact that he admits that his kid(s) found out about his financial troubles from the other kids at school tells you all you need to know about the relationship between Depp and his kids, am sure he loves them but it doesn’t sound like he spends a lot of time with them or communicates well with them.
I don’t know about that. U2 postponed a lot of shows on the Vertigo tour when Edge’s daughter was being treated for leukemia. There was no public announcement of her illness at the time (her mother disclosed it in an interview years later), it was just done. It cost the band a small fortune, but I don’t think there was much debate among the band members about it. A child was ill, her father wanted to be with her, so they did what they needed to do.
Depp is just a lousy father.
Tours are cancelled all the time. A seriously ill child at home is absolutely a reason to cancel a tour.
This tour wouldn’t have to be cancelled though. His bandmates are Alice Cooper and Joe Perry, they know plenty of people who’d come finish the tour with them (and who’d play a whole lot better than Depp does).
They ARE better without him. I agree with you. Sad but true.
He 100% can cancel the tour or miss some dates. First, tours have comprehensive insurance for exactly situations like this. Second, the world of multi-millionaire junkie celebrities who buy private islands the way most of us but potato chips and run elaborate households full of staff like their own private Court of Versailles is nothing like the average Joe. It’s crazy to compare Johnny Depp to some middle manager in an insurance firm being denied a request for time off – who the hell is going to stop Johnny Depp doing whatever he wants? Celebs ditch much bigger commitments all the time, only recourse is to sue (good luck). Third even ordinary working Joes can generally take compassionate leave under circumstances like this. And fourth, is this actually a real tour, or is it just Depp showing up to random bars with his mates and having fun drinking and jamming? He’s hardly selling out stadiums. His tour is mostly small festivals, nothing that can’t easily be cancelled.
I don’t think he can afford to quit the tour. At the moment it is likely his only form of income…
I think that’s a bit unfair. We don’t know the ins and outs of this. Not saying the guy’s not a dick, but I’m not sure that working while his son is ill is proof of that.
That’s my thinking, too. The “he’s having a great time on tour” seems like particularly cruel spin. We really don’t know what’s going on with Johnny and the kids. Maybe they don’t even want him there in the condition he’s in.
Sorry I was on the phone, it mis spelled kid.
I think it’s unfair saying he is having a great time yes, but I also think that Johnny is too incoherent too high too drunk to be around a kid, and that is even worse.
Tour? He’s not in The Rolling Stones. (eyeroll) Never liked him but now I can’t stand him. Hope their son gets better. For that I have empathy.
I hope their son Jack is ok. A very stressful time for all.
I know Johnny is an alcoholic, drug addict and abused Amber, but I have never doubted his love for his children.
This is the man who donated millions to a children’s hospital in London after they saved his daughter.
I think the reason Jack is not in public eye is because he doesn’t want to. And it could also be that whatever he is suffering from is keeping him away from the spotlight.
I hope Jack gets better…
Yeah and maybe the reason he wasn’t around much was because he was working. He obviously has his issues but c’mon
I agree, accusing him of not loving his son is cruel.
But it’s not an accusation. His son is seriously ill and he isn’t there. You don’t need to make an “accusation” because the facts speak for themselves.
Anon33, I don’t know if you can say the facts speak for themselves when the only thing we know is that he’s not there. Maybe they don’t want him there. Also, when my son was seriously ill in the hospital, my husband wasn’t there much of the time for various reasons that had nothing to do with him not loving our son.
He is there! He arrived as soon as he found out his son was ill.
I grew up with an alcoholic father. While I believe my father must have loved me, the fact was that he was not around and did in fact dump almost all of my upbringing on my mother and oldest sister. So as far as whether Depp loves his son, from personal experience, I say show it or shut up.
He probably loves his children. I believe he does but they are not high on his list of loves and priorities. He loves alcohol and drugs a lot more for one thing.
There’s love, then there’s being a good parent. There are plenty of people who neglect their kids terribly and still protest to deeply love them, they simply don’t know how to show love or how to parent correctly. It’s like a little kid accidentally squeezing a kitten to death because they love the kitten so very very much.
My cousin lives in Hollywood and her child was in Lily’s class in school. My cousin had an opportunity to meet Johnny on one occasion. After the meeting my cousin referred to him as “Johnny No Depth” lol! Too bad he’s so messed up.
If this is true and it’s a long standing issue, that’s a really awkward way for it to come out. He couldn’t have gone with “family emergency”? (Which could mean the kids or Johnny or a grandparent…less specific) I mean the way he worded it could be a long illness or he could have a burst appendix. I just feel uncomfortable for her and her son from a privacy perspective.
A bit off-topic, but: it makes me nuts when famous men name their sons Jr. or III or whatever. It’s tough enough being a celeb’s kid without having to share the name. (See: Frank Sinatra Jr., et al.)
Perhaps that’s why he goes by Jack?
That’s a little unfair. Just because they’re famous doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be able to pass on a family name. Besides, in this case, his son goes by Jack not Johnny. Anyway, I hope he gets well soon and that it’s not too serious.
It makes me nuts when anyone does it! What an ego, you want your child to be a copy of you or something? Let them have their own name that can be theirs. It’s always sons, too. I can hardly think of any woman famous or not who named their daughter after themselves.
Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz named their two children, Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz, Jr. I always thought that was so weird!
@Chaine: I know one woman who named her daughter after herself. Her name was “Barbie”–and her daughter was a Barbie, too. Both were, perhaps all too predictably, thoroughly insufferable people.
@ BostonStrong : Kind of like Donald Jr. and Ivanka for the Trumps? Yeah, it’s weird.
I read that Donald did not want Jrs name to be Donald too. It was in that recent Julia Ioffe GQ article. He said that if Jr turned out to be a loser it would tarnish his name.
Chaine: I’m with you. This tradition irks me as well. Not something I would do, or if I absolutely had to, I’d use a nickname and call him by that instead.
Mothers named their daughters after themselves in England all the time, historically (see Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary Shelley as just one of the most famous examples). That’s why they needed about as a few female names as male names back then, ha–talk about recycling. That said, I’m no fan of it at all, for any kids. The narcissistic trend needs to die for sons too.
A friend of mine named Cristina is married to a man named John. John comes from a long line of Johns (first-born sons) but Cristina turned the tables on that tradition by naming their first son Christopher. Still laughing about it.
Ermmm.. kid not in public ergo he is seriously ill!?!?? Wtf? Or perhaps he wants a private life? His name is already John depp… let him hide in the shadows as much as possible!
What is wrong with everybody? Did you not read the article? It was announced at her event that he was ill. No one is speculating on that. That’s a fact.
Poor Jack, and Vanessa. That’s very sad and a lot to deal with.
Side note – why does it look like Johnny doesn’t have an arm in that picture?
Well, she’s wealthy, so I highly doubt she’s “doing it alone,” but she definitely can’t rely on Depp to be a reliable second parental figure. I wouldn’t be surprised if he had a chronic, congenital illness given how rarely we hear about them – but good for her for keeping that private. Her kid deserves not to have his business bandied about in the world.
I hope Jack recovers quickly and fully.
It always causes involuntary eyerolling from me when media refer to couples like Depp and Paradis — who were together for years, had children, owned properties, etc. — as having “dated”. Like, Kurt and Goldie are “dating.” LOL It’s a kind of false propriety. Sure we have a vulgar thug in the WH, but yeah, “dating.”
Ikr. They could refer to them as former partners, or former long term partners.
During the fight with his accountants, it was revealed Jack lives in his own house down the street from Johnny, and has for years. They didn’t say exactly when he moved out on his own, but it was in the 14-16 range, as he had a driver for a time, and an unlimited expense account. I wonder if he over dosed.
He’s 16, overdose is definitely a possibility.
He lives in the home that Depp offered to Vanessa Paradis after their breakup.His grandmother and Paradis with his sister lives there also as long times as he goes to school at LA. Paradis spends the half of her time in LA .
People published a statement from a “source” (obv a Depp spokesperson) saying the son is not ill and has no health issues. Odd.
Back a decade ago I had a brief moment as a parenting blogger, and of course we were always keenly interested in news of celebrity children. I remember thinking, at the time, that there were no two better-looking kids on Earth than Lily-Rose and Jack Depp. But we had a policy not to use pictures, so I can’t prove it. Just trust me, they made those Botticelli angels look like extras from Our Gang.
I think both of them were absentee parents. Vanessa Paradis has been living primarily in France ever since she broke up with Johnny Depp, while her son Jack still lives in the US.
I don’t think Jack has a chronic illness. He is just out of the public eye. Lily-Rose was too until she decided she wanted to have a career and she started being in the media a lot.
There are not many pictures of them because they were rarely out in public places with their parents. I don’t think they saw much of their parents in private either.
Also, I think Depp has never been sober. Paradis is quite a stoner, so I think it just worked for them until he met Amber Heard and decided to leave his family.