Dakota Johnson talks cancel culture after working with “canceled” actors Armie Hammer, Shia LaBeouf, & Johnny Depp

Dakota Johnson is talking about cancel culture and she has a very mature and realistic take on the topic. The subject arose because Johnson has previously worked with currently “canceled” actors Armie Hammer, Shia LaBeouf, and Johnny Depp. If people were expecting her to coyly distance herself from these performers, you’d be proven wrong.

Dakota Johnson spoke about her “mixed feelings” about cancel culture during a chat with “The Hollywood Reporter.” The trade asked her about working with the aforementioned actors who have been taken down a bit in the #MeToo era and here is what she had to say:

“I never experienced that firsthand from any of those people. I had an incredible time working 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.”

Johnson previously appeared in 2010’s The Social Network with Armie Hammer, although they didn’t share scenes, and in 2019’s Wounds, which saw them working a bit closer together. That same year, Johnson appeared in The Peanut Butter Falcon with Shia LaBeouf. Back in 2015, Johnson appeared alongside Johnny Depp in Black Mass. All of those happened before the trio became the attention of alleged troubling behavior. Hammer has been accused of rape and emotional abuse by a former partner while other alleged partners claim that he coerced them into engaging in sexual acts that they weren’t comfortable with. Shia LaBeouf is being sued by his ex-girlfriend, FKA twigs, for abuse and sexual battery while Johnny Depp has been accused of verbal and physical abuse by his ex-wife, actress Amber Heard. Johnson doesn’t seem to fall in that crowd of people who think they should be canceled without redemption. In fact, Johnson believes that people can change and should be given the opportunity to do so:

“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. But I do believe that there’s a way for the pendulum to find the middle.”

Johnson does acknowledge that the entertainment needed to be shaken up a bit but questions if cancel culture is the way to do it:

“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 f****** downer. I hate that term.”

I honestly like her stance on this and her opinion regarding her former co-stars. She didn’t just try to avoid being associated with them. She believed that maybe they have their own issues and need some help and should be given the opportunity to change, if possible. It’s a lot more refreshing than just leaving them out to dry. My problem with cancel culture is that we paint it with one brush. We treat certain “canceled” offenses the same as some that go beyond simply canceling the person in question and are downright reprehensible. I look at someone like Shia LaBeouf, who admittedly grew up troubled, and think that he just needs a little help to get it together. Does he deserve to be given up on? I really don’t think so. While Hammer and LaBeouf have laid low a bit amid their controversies, Johnny Depp himself recently slammed culture by saying, “It’s so far out of hand now that I can promise you that no one is safe. Not one of you. No one out that door. It takes one sentence and there’s no more ground, the carpet has been pulled. It’s not just me that this has happened to, it’s happened to a lot of people. When there’s an injustice, whether it’s against you or someone you love, or someone you believe in, stand up, don’t sit down.”

What are YOUR thoughts on Dakota Johnson’s feelings about her former co-stars amid their cancel culture controversies?