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Apparently, Ian McKellen really enjoyed working alongside Johnny Depp, but a lot of people online find that pretty disappointing. The two actors both appear in Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol, which is set to come out in November 2026. Some people have described this as Depp’s “big-budget Hollywood comeback.” Back in 2019, Depp sued his ex-wife Amber Heard for defamation after she wrote an op-ed about being a victim of domestic abuse. She did not name him in the article, but he claimed that it had a negative impact on his career. The former couple then appeared in court in 2022 for a highly publicized defamation trial.
In spite of this, many people—including McKellen—continue to defend and support Depp.
McKellen said he “fell in love with” Depp.
Speaking to Variety, McKellen, 86, said, “He’s in spankingly good form. “Effervescent, funny, irreverent, serious — all at the same time.” He added that when they worked together, it “was a bit of a love fest” because of how much he admires Depp.
“I fell in love with him,” he continued. “He’s very obliging to his fellow actors. [There was] a wonderful feeling on the set…so, that was a treat.”
Critics don’t think Depp is worthy of this level of praise.
#IanMcKellen says he “fell in love with” Johnny Depp after working together on the upcoming “Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol”:
— Variety (@Variety) April 9, 2026
“He’s in spankingly good form. Effervescent, funny, irreverent, serious — all at the same time. It was a bit of a love fest, really. I fell in love with… pic.twitter.com/QkRnuV1KbK
Or any, actually. Though Depp definitely still has fans even after the high-profile defamation trial and abuse accusations, there are also a decent number of people who do not wish to support him in any way. So, when a clip of McKellen praising Depp started circulating on social media, some fans of McKellen’s were pretty disappointed.
One critic on X called McKellen’s comments “gross on so many levels.” Someone else called the actor a “sick, abuse-supporting loser.” The video also got a lot of comments like, “Ian no 💔” and “Not McKellen …”
“Mckellen is dead to me,” another person wrote. “A huge disappointment.”
People were disappointed, but not necessarily surprised.
Oh absolutely not wtf https://t.co/4hHgBtmGeq
— emily 💍 comms closed (@moonlarking) April 9, 2026
The fact that people were not exactly shocked to hear McKellen praise Depp was less about McKellen and more about Depp. On X, one person pointed out, “Abusers use charm to manipulate those around them & save their rage & abuse for targets.”
The topic was also discussed on Reddit, where someone posted about how “Ian McKellen says he ‘fell in love with’ infamously abusive Johnny Depp after working together on Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol.”
There, people were basically saying the same thing. They weren’t surprised that Depp seemed likable (or lovable, actually) to McKellen. One person wrote, “Abusive man can control himself and be charming when it comes to interactions with more powerful men; news at 11.” And someone else said, “Abusers are famously good at getting people to fall in love with them. It’s how they keep abusing people.”
A few people tried to give McKellen the benefit of the doubt. “Let an old man be old,” someone argued. “Do you think Ian McKellen is chronically online?” And in spite of the backlash, plenty of people on social media continued to defend and praise both actors, calling them “legends.”
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