An Annotated Examination of the Unsealed Text Exchange Between Marilyn Manson and Johnny Depp

 

 

 

What follows is a commentary on the unsealed text exchange between Marilyn Manson and Johnny Depp, in order to offer a better and clearer understanding of what is going on instead of the false reports in the media. They were part of the Plaintiff's trial exhibit in the Johnny Depp v. Amber Heard trial. The owner seems to have been the sister of Johnny Depp, Christi Dembrowski, and Johnny Depp himself. The texts revolve around the period from June 23, 2016 to November 4, 2017. During this time Marilyn Manson and Johnny Depp were collaborating on music and music videos, while also supporting each other in their troubled relationships (Marilyn Manson's girlfriend Lindsay Usich and Johnny Depps' wife Amber Heard), besides their own separate projects. It is impossible to accurately interpret these texts unless you get as much context as possible, and that is what I will attempt to provide below.

 

 

 

The exchange begins on June 23, 2016 at 12:08 AM. Marilyn Manson is checking in with Johnny Depp to see if things are alright. This was around the time Amber Heard was getting a restraining order against Johnny Depp. There is a gap and Depp doesn't respond, but at 9:08 AM Manson hopes he had slept well. Depp didn't read these messages till 3:47 PM.

 

 

 

The same day, on June 23rd, at 11:01 AM, Marilyn Manson sends Johnny Depp two attachments that we can't make out, along with a message that says: "I got an amber 2.0". The "amber" he refers to is likely Amber Heard, while Manson himself does not reveal in the texts we have who Amber 2.0 is, therefore we can only assume it is his girlfriend at the time Lindsay Usich, though it is possible it could be a reference to another woman from that time, since during this time Manson and Usich were having a rough time in their relationship and Manson was reportedly seeing other women. Nonetheless, he is likening her actions to what Amber Heard was doing to Depp at the time. We should also note that on June 23, 2016, Manson was on tour and was likely texting from Texas, so if it was Lindsay he was talking about, he wasn't home at the time in Los Angeles. For all we know, it could refer to Evan Rachel Wood, since it was on June 10th of 2016 that she came out as a victim of domestic abuse for the first time, without naming Marilyn Manson.

 

 

 

We are now reading a text Manson sent Depp on June 8, 2016 at 10:00 AM. He calls him "Poopdeck Pappy". Poopdeck Pappy is the name of Popeye's father from the Popeye cartoon. Popeye and Poopdeck Pappy are known for being a spitting image of one another, though Pappy has a white beard. "Smooth up" could have a variety of meanings, from getting rid of any irregularities in their life to shaving, so we can only speculate what is meant.

At 10:50 PM on the same day, Depp texts Manson and tells him he is on a bus crossing the border between the US and Canada, and jokes that he will be in "jail soon", in a humorous reference probably to the smuggling of his dogs by Amber in Australia a year earlier. He also expresses his love for Manson and asks him what two songs they should play together on stage.

Manson's first response more than an hour later is in reference to either Canada itself or to the experience of crossing the Canadian border. Manson himself was in Hartford, Connecticut at the time playing a gig with Slipknot (I was at this concert, by the way).

 

 

 

Manson's second response a minute later could be interpreted as him trying to hook his friend up with the girl who was running his concert Meet and Greets. "Looks like you need it" could be a response by Manson to a photo Depp sent of himself, probably in a bored mood for having to wait at the border crossing.

Manson's third response is in reference to Depp's question as to what two songs they should perform together. The first is Alice Cooper's "I'm Eighteen" ("18") that he wants to perform with the Hollywood Vampires, while separately with his band he wants to perform with Depp "The Dope Show". Whenever performing "The Dope Show" together, Manson would commonly retitle it as "The Depp Show", as can be seen here.

The next text at 5:26 AM on July 9th is obscure, but I can make out the name "Lindsay" and "I am having my friend take her to...."

 

 

 

The same day, at 5:17 PM, Depp replies. It is difficult to interpret the first few words outside of its context. Manson was in New Jersey at the time, on tour. The two photos Manson sent him seem to be of Manson himself, though it is not clear. "We shall exchange precious bodily fluids" is just part of Manson and Depp using gay references to refer to each others close friendship and should not be interpreted literally; they have done this for many years publicly and privately and have showed their affection for one another by playing with this type of language in a joking manner, as he does at the end of this text when he bids farewell saying: "Big gay love".

Johnny seems to then be advising Manson on how to deal with a situation with Lindsay. We are not told the context. He wisely advises Manson to stay calm and not scream or flip out. This is something Depp apparently learned  in his readings on the subject of dealing with a narcissist, which likely refers to Amber Heard. He calls Amber his "ex-cunt" and a textbook example of being a sociopath. Depp then tells Manson he has to go on stage to perform. "Zippy the Pinhead" is a reference to another comic strip character who is known for his enthusiasm for philosophical non sequiturs, verbal free association, and the pursuit of popular culture ephemera. His wholehearted devotion to random artifacts satirizes the excesses of consumerism.

 

 

 

The first text from July 9, 2016 at 5:49 PM seems to lack a lot of context. "Tom Whalley" is the head of Manson's label Loma Vista. Whalley is the former chairman and CEO of Warner Bros. Records who had also worked with Manson during his time at Interscope in the ‘90s. Apparently Manson is talking about playing a private gig for him. "Wallet" seems to be Manson's habit of word-play on the name Whalley and the fact that he gets paid by him. I don't know who "the dingus" is, though on Instagram Manson does refer to actor Billy Zane as "Carpe Dingus", while the sentence itself is a reference to Manson's song called "You and Me and the Devil Make Three".

 

The second text is a reference to Aerosmith and Hollywood Vampires guitarist Joe Perry, who on the night of this text while playing onstage, collapsed just two songs into the concert. Manson was asking Depp to inform him of his condition.

 

 

 

Depp replies to Manson six minutes later and informs him that Joe Perry is okay and in stable condition, and describes how frightening the experience was to see.

 

 

 

A minute later, Manson replies to Depp and in a friendly and caring way informs him that if he wants to talk he could call him, since he was on his bus (likely going from Pennsylvania to his next gig in Ohio). After some scrambled text, Manson talks about how they are both having a "fucked up year", and he expresses that they should both join forces and change it, adding a reference from the well-known Saturday morning cartoon the Wonder Twins, who would both touch each others rings and together say "Wonder Twins powers activate" whenever they wanted to activate their super powers.

 

 

 

We now move forward to November 19, 2016, when at 4:59 AM Manson tries to get in touch with Depp in order to crash at his house for the night. He tries again at 8:05 AM, but seems to get no response. The next day, at 7:43 AM, Manson reveals he had some sort of a "massive dramatic exodus of the it" and that he was ok. Whatever this means, it seems to have stressed Manson out or worked him up and he just wanted to talk to someone, but Depp doesn't reply.

 

 

  

Seems like Manson still couldn't get in touch with Depp on November 21, 2016 at 1:51 AM. During this time Manson is no longer on tour and seems like he is in Los Angeles.

 

 

 

On November 25th of 2016 at 8:43 PM, Manson sent Depp a message, and the only words I can make out are "fuck", "asylum" and "know if you can talk". There seems to be some urgency from Depp's next reply.

Depp replies at 9:20 PM that he is sending to him Starling Jenkins, Depp's driver and bodyguard, and asks Manson if he should send him at that moment.

 

 

 

At 9:22 PM, Manson replies by saying that he is at the house of Tyler Bates, where he would go at this time to record his new album. Here we see a definite link Manson is making between Lindsay and Amber, by saying that "Lindsay pulled an Amber" in filing a police report. According to Manson, musician James Iha (the husband of Ashley Usich, Lindsay's twin sister) and Lindsay's mother were out to steal his money. We have no other information about this accusation, though we do know now that a police report was in fact never filed. Whatever the case, Depp is ready to lend Manson any support and help he needs, but Manson tells him he felt safe for now.

Since the media made a big deal about Manson's use of the slang term "Zipperhead" (he spells it "Zipper Head") in reference to James Iha, I'll briefly address it with the way I view it. Zipperhead is a military slang term for an Asian of low intelligence (other possible origins here), which some people view as an offensive racial slur maybe dating back to the Korean War. But we should be very cautious how we moralize and judge private conversations we were not meant to be a part of. First, Manson's father, Hugh Warner, was a Vietnam vet, and I have no doubt that Manson probably was raised on this slang term. Second, this slang term is used in the film Full Metal Jacket, which Johnny Depp will also quote from the next day in his response to Manson, so they are likely related as a movie reference. Third, James Iha was like family to Manson at the time, today he is his brother-in-law, and being an Asian in a rock band, which is not often seen, it could perhaps have been a sort of nickname for James Iha and it was something he gladly accepted ... we don't know. Fourth, in my firm opinion, a so-called offensive racial slur is only an offensive racial slur if someone listening is offended by it. No doubt, Johnny Depp was not offended by this term. Therefore, in a private text exchange where no one is offended by a racial term, as we see here, be it widely offensive or not, then it is by no means an offensive racial slur. If we start monitoring and moralizing private conversations that were not meant to be heard by "others" and those "others" are offended, then those "others" have issues they need to work out. The dangers of judging by our own standards conversations we were not meant to be a part of leads to "1984" thought police types of dangers and scenarios, and we should be careful as a society how we judge such things. Lastly, Manson has always been very popular in Asian countrys, has collaborated with Asian artists, and is even very good long-time friends with Asians, so to read this as Manson being racist against Asians is frankly very dumb.

 

 

 

Depp again advises Manson to stay away from Lindsay, fearing that Lindsay may do to Manson what Amber did to him.

 

 

 

An hour later Manson replies that he hopes the police don't come after him. By this time, he has managed to go over to the home of Tyler Bates again to work on the last track of his album, though there is room for one more track. He asks Depp when he will be in LA. "El Hombre Negro" is translated as "The Black Man". Manson isn't Spanish, so we should allow for the fact he may be saying something wrong. It could be the name of a place or person, or a name Manson gave himself or Depp. If I were to guess, this is probably in reference to a segment in one of Manson's favorite shows that he also appeared in, Eastbound and Down, where Kenny Powers learns the word for "black" in Spanish is "negro", and therefore calls himself the "Negro Hombre" since he always wears black, even though it is grammatically incorrect. (I should also add, in the video for "Say10", Manson plays a black king while Depp plays a white king, so it could be a reference to that.)

 

 

 

At 2:33 AM on November 26th, Depp writes "Kooky Kitty", which may be a reference to Lindsay or even Manson, but it isn't clear. Depp tells Manson that he is indeed in Los Angeles and that they should drink and eat together. Seeing that Manson was talking to him about the album in the previous text, and that Johnny Depp would eventually appear in two music videos for two songs on this album, it seems most likely that they then begin to exchange ideas about one of the music videos that would eventually become the video for the song "Kill4Me". The other video is for "Say10", which contains similar imagery. Perhaps they were discussing even another video that never came to fruition. Nonetheless, Depp here suggests they use a cave of some sort for the video, and make it styled after something by the Marque de Sade. He then tells Manson that he is up to getting together whenever he wants. "Love you long time" is a famous line used by a prostitute when propositioning a pair of American soldiers in the film Full Metal Jacket. Roughly translated, it means "I will satisfy your sexual desires", but here Depp is probably just using it as a joking reference, which is the way it is often used in popular culture. Unclear about the "Jimmy Drip" reference, maybe drug related.

Manson replies a few hours later at 5:06 AM that he will text Depp tomorrow about getting together. He then agrees with Depp's music video idea by referencing Salo as an inspiration. Salo is a Pasolini film based on the unfinished novel 120 Days of Sodom by the Marquee de Sade. The film focuses on four wealthy, corrupt Italian libertines in the time of the fascist Republic of Salò (1943–1945). The libertines kidnap 18 teenagers and subject them to four months of extreme violence, sadism, and sexual and psychological torture. Salo has long been an influence on Manson's art and has been recommended by him for many years, and now it seems he finally wants to do a music video influenced by Salo with Depp. This video would eventually be "Kill4Me". And though they like to make gay jokes about their friendship, Manson makes it clear that there is to be no gay stuff between them in the video. It appears filming for the video would start that Thursday, and Manson was just spurting out meaningless ideas in a joking manner that only makes sense to the both of them, but it has to do with getting some people to recreate their formative years in a street opera, whatever that means (it seems to be elaborated on by Manson in his Instagram post below from November 4, 2017). Whatever this idea was, it was obviously discarded. "Fanta" is a favorite drink of Manson, as can be seen on this Instagram post. The word "Boom" appears to be trademarked by Manson.

 

 

 

Of course, Manson had to add some word-play, and turns "emoticon"  into "emoticocks", which could be a working title for his street opera.

 

 

 

At 7:01 AM on the same day, Manson then sends a now scrambled text which includes the word "restraining order". Depp then replies to Manson to stay away from Lindsay and "speak as little as possible to her". With concern, Depp tells Manson he would come and get him in his car.

 

Manson quickly replies that he is safe at home with his cats while Lindsay is at her sister's house.  Manson then inquires of Depp where he is so he can hide out at his place.

 

 

 

Depp tells Manson that he is at his old mansion at 1486 North Sweetzer in West Hollywood. He invites him to come over and do drugs together, though he has a conference call.

Manson says he talked to "Tony", which is likely his manager Tony Ciulla, and seems to be receiving his information about Lindsay from him. We are then informed that Lindsay filed a restraining order against Manson and said he beat her up and gave the cops a copy of his address and said drugs were there. Because Manson doesn't want to deal with the cops and the situation, he wants to be with Depp at his place.

It should be noted, Lindsay never did file a restraining order against Manson, nor has Lindsay claimed that Manson beat her. Either this was Lindsay making a threat to Manson, or Manson misunderstanding the situation from hearsay, or it is possible he is just playing up a situation for Depp. Whatever is the case, we do not have a clear idea of the situation from these texts without context.

 

 

 

Manson tells Depp to have his conference call, and he will just sneak in and not make any noise. He says that he will have his assistant Justin ‘Judd’ Sherman drop him off after his call, meanwhile he is packing up some underwear and things. Depp assures Manson to just come over despite the conference call.

 

 

 

We now move forward in time almost a year to November 2, 2017 at 8:00 AM, when Manson tells Depp he now has crutches he could use that don't require the use of his hands and legs and they look like a pirate leg. This is in reference to Manson's onstage accident in early October 2017, when he was required surgery and needed a wheelchair and crutches to get around. It is accompanied by a photo attachment. I'm not sure why this text is in these documents, but it stands alone for some reason. 

The next day, on November 3rd at 8:10 PM, Manson seems to be asking Depp if he is approved to make a public statement in favor of Depp's innocence.

 

 

 

The next morning Manson goes over his statement that he wants to make on behalf of Depp, whether through the press or on Twitter. However, this statement would not be released. Instead, he has made other statements to the press in favor of Johnny, but it was in September of 2016.

 

 

 

 

One thing is certain in both cases between Manson's love life and Depp's love life: they both had each others backs strongly from the beginning and believed in each others innocence, and they felt they were both going through something very comparable.

 

 

 

We don't know what this attachment is, but it seems to be a note or a drawing for Depp from Manson.

 

We do know however that on this day Manson made the following Instagram post, which depicted him from a scene from his music video that he did with Depp mentioned earlier - "Kill4Me":

 

Conclusion:

There has been a lot of press and talk on social media about this text exchange between Marilyn Manson and Johnny Depp.  Pretty much everyone wants to read into what is written their own fantasies that have nothing to do with reality. There has been no research done, and no attempt to look into the context of these texts. Instead we have nothing but ignorant interpretations that take every word literally and try to make Manson and Depp look like monsters or secret lovers, when the reality shows nothing but an exchange between two friends who sincerely love each other and will do anything for each other so that they are both safe and in a good place. These are two men who just want to make and perform their art, but their private lives are a mess and they are there for each other to try and fix things for each other, and even when it can't be fixed, they become a refuge for each other. Personally, I found the text exchange to be quite moving and heartbreaking and even beautiful and very humane.

Yes, some controversial things are brought up about Lindsay, but we shouldn't believe what is written here is the whole truth. We don't know where Manson is getting his information about Lindsay. They were not living together at the time. Both were very volatile at the time, and in time I'm sure we will know more of the truth. What we do know is that things were eventually worked out by Manson and Lindsay, they got back together and committed themselves to each other, to the point where they got married on May 15, 2020 in a private ceremony. Lindsay has shown nothing but love and support for Manson and has insisted that he never beat her or harmed her in any way. She in turn, as can be seen by anyone who does the research, never took out a restraining order against Manson or made any serious threats against him. There was just a lot of misunderstandings, as many couples go through, and eventually they worked everything out and are very much in love. Unfortunately, the press never reported how on May 15, 2022, for their two year anniversary, Lindsay sent a series of Instagram posts of her and Manson, including wedding photos, as well as a very strong statement of support, which should reflect Lindsay's true feelings and thoughts about this whole situation: