Hollywood Vampires postpone US tour dates after Johnny Depp suffers ‘painful injury’

Depp’s revived American rock supergroup were scheduled to begin 2023 tour on 30 May

Hollywood Vampires have postponed the first three dates of their 2023 tour after frontman Johnny Depp sustained a “painful injury to his ankle”.

On Monday (29 May), the day before the revived American rock supergroup were scheduled to kick off their tour, they announced the “sad” news that they would be rescheduling three concerts set for this week.

“Johnny has sustained a painful injury to his ankle following his recent appearances and has been advised by his doctor not to travel,” they wrote in a statement shared on Instagram.

“He is devastated by this turn of events, but looks forward to resting up so all four Vampires can bring their absolute best to the tour in Europe.”

Their first three performances, which were expected to take place on Tuesday (30 May) in Manchester, New Hampshire, Wednesday (31 May) in Boston, Massachusetts, and Thursday (1 June) in Bethel, New York, will instead take place in July.

All tickets will be honoured for the new dates: Boston on 28 July, Manchester on 29 July and Bethel on 30 July.

The band, originally formed in 2012 by Depp and core members Alice Cooper and Aerosmith’s Joe Perry, first shared in 2022 that they would be reuniting for a 2023 tour, along with rhythm guitarist Tommy Henriksen.

Their revival announcement came days after the Pirates of the Caribbean actor won his defamation lawsuit against ex-wife Amber Heard.

In June 2022, a jury found that Heard had defamed Depp on all three counts and awarded him $10m (£8m) in compensatory damages and $5m (£4m) in punitive damages. Heard was awarded $2m (£1.6m) in compensatory damages, but no punitive damages.

During the recent world premiere of his new film Jeanne du Barry at the Cannes Film Festival, Depp addressed being “boycotted” by Hollywood following the trial.

“Did I feel boycotted by Hollywood? You’d have to not have a pulse at that point to feel [like], ‘None of this is happening, this is actually just a weird joke – you’ve been asleep for 35 years!’

“Of course, when you’re asked to resign from a film you’re doing because of something that is merely a bunch of vowels and consonants floating in the air, you feel a bit boycotted,” Depp said.