Ellen Barkin talks Hollywood misogyny and the Johnny Depp trial: “I could deal without all those men”
Ellen Barkin says she was "proud" to be identified as a truth teller in the Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard trial
Aux News Ellen Barkin
“The truth is, I am 68 years old,” Ellen Barkin says in a new interview with HuffPost. “I don’t give a fuck. I’m fresh out of all my fucks.” No wonder, then, she is bold enough to both acknowledge her white privilege while also stating that she literally doesn’t identify as white when filling out paperwork. (“I’m a Jew. I never called myself white. My grandmother taught me that.”) It’s that kind of no-fucks-given attitude that makes for a great celebrity profile, so needless to say, Barkin brings it.
She’s unflinching about the misogyny and over-sexualization she’s been subjected to in her career. She recalls overhearing a producer say “She looks like a girl who could give you a disease,” and having Sea Of Love director Harold Becker “literally [rip] my merkin off, taking some pubic hair with him” on set. While working on TNT’s Animal Kingdom, “Men used to come in my trailer and just scream at me,” Barkin shares. “I was like, ‘Wow, I hate these men.’ Most of them were just like little boys.”
Perhaps the most hot-button issue Barkin discusses, however, is the trial of Amber Heard vs. Johnny Depp. Her 2019 pre-recorded deposition was featured in the 2022 court case, in which she testified that Depp was “controlling,” “jealous,” and “demanding” during their romantic relationship in the 1990s. Now, Barkin says she was “proud” to be identified by lawyers in the case as someone who wouldn’t lie. “I’ve never met Amber Heard in my life, but I know what I know about Johnny Depp. He never touched me, but I saw violence,” Barkin states now. “I saw him strangle an AD [assistant director]. He did throw a wine bottle. But I didn’t feel at the time that [testifying] was an act of bravery. I felt it’s just what you do.”
Barkin has more positive things to say about her experience with Poker Face, which was more “relaxed and safe” in part because it was a more female-oriented environment. There’s a lot she enjoys about working in television, but “I could live without the domineering white, cis, het—whatever the fuck it is,” she says. “I could deal without all those men.” The full interview can be read here.
79 Comments
“I could deal without all those men.”- A lonely single woman in their 60s with two failed marriages.
Weird that you’d throw “lonely” in there, since there’s no mention of that in the article.
“I don’t give a fuck. I’m fresh out of all my fucks.” “I could live without the domineering white, cis, het—whatever the fuck it is,” she says. “I could deal without all those men.” Sounds like an angry, lonely, and bitter person to me.
Everyone is lonely. And more so in their 60s.
Well and sure, you’d know. Way better than her. The actual person being discussed. I’m sure.
damn dude
Well… this didn’t age well.
like a cheese
The trolls always tell on themselves without knowing it. It’s fucking hilarious.
EEEEEEWWWW to you, sir.
you just proved her point cumrag
“I could deal without all those men” is going to be the subtitle for autobiography, I swear. I feel you Ellen.
I’m 57 now and while I am anxious about being alone for the rest of my life and I know there are (probably) decent men out there, the thought of actually being in another relationship with one is EXHAUSTING.
54 year old male here. I’m totally okay with being alone the rest of my life, and you can be, too. It’s just not worth it.
The AV Club“I’m totally okay with being alone the rest of my life, and you can be, too”
Yeah. I totally know there are really great men out there. I just can’t do it anymore.
Probably? its probably decent men out there? Did you ever think you might be bad at picking men? Because regardless of what men you have come across, you are the common denominator. people attract what they are, when I was broken or I attracted broken people.
Same.
Yup, she’s definitely going to write a book to milk the Depp trial stuff. Desperate to stretch out this new 15 minutes of fame for as long as she can.
Killing her character off on Animal Kingdom was a sufficiently crazy thing to do that it calls the judgement of the dudes making it into question beyond anything else
Smurf was probably the only interesting thing I found about the show honestly.
I had to look it up to remind myself that it wasn’t a nature show on PBS.
The most toxic work environments I’ve worked in were female dominated. So gossipy, catty… so much backstabbing.
I can confirm this.
I’ve had the exact opposite experience. So, it seems, has Barkin. Weird.
White guy here. Worked in plenty of spaces which were female-dominated, all of which were more or less very pleasant to work in from my personal experience. So while I’m sure that, given the breadth and range of humanity, there are likely to be some female-dominated spaces that are also utterly toxic, they’re fairly rare in my personal experience.
Yeah, I’m sure you, Dachshund Dude, have worked in a bunch of “female dominated” workplaces.
Please disclose where you worked?
Have you considered that maybe you just worked with a bunch of jerks, and that their gender was wholly irrelevant to the experience?
People who whine about female-dominated work environments should go work as a woman in the oil sector. Men joke about raping you to your face and you have to strategically avoid being alone with creeps every single day.
sure they were dude
I wonder if that director kept the merkin.
You want to add it to your nest?
No, I was going to stick it on my chin and pretend it was a goatee.
jesus fucking christ how many accounts do you have
Just one. You got some kinda problem just leaving it be if you don’t like it?
i guess i do fuckface
I think she made that part up.
She was terrific in Poker Face. Reading the HuffPo article, I’m baffled anyone thought she was unattractive. What that producer said and what Harold Becker did are infuriating. If I had been a random guy on set, free to speak my mind because I wasn’t working there, I’d have yelled at those assholes.
gee, I wonder if anyone else ever had that fantasy.
Sure, everybody has that fantasy. We’d all love to righteously tell off assholes at the moment they commit injustice. And I didn’t mean it in a sexist, “protecting the lady’s honor and virtue” kind of way.
yes and?
Sorry, I thought you were criticizing the comment.
I mean, who doesn’t love yelling at assholes? You get plenty of opportunity if you work in retail.
I remember back in the 80s they would call her “unconventionally pretty”, or say her face was unique and pretty despite flaws, and I’d be sitting there thinking “what fucking flaws?”I’m really glad we’ve moved past the era where you had to be a California beach babe with absolutely symmetrical features.
Was this written by ChatGPT?
gosh what a misandrist
And racist.
Ha. Remember when it was 2014 and people were saying this word over and over completely seriously?
cry about it
It’s nighttime in the big city… and Ellen Barkin is still pretty great.
It’s also cool in the furnace?
Without “those men” you would not be an actor as it was “those men” who gave you a chance in movies despite looking totally not hot.
Ellin Barkin barkin at all those men. How bitter and resentful can a human being get? What a woman.
Johnny Depp won. Amber Heard is guilty of defamation. Ellen Barkin, you cannot re-write history in order to extend your 15 minutes of fame. Men AND women are both capable of toxicity and we’ve seen yours, and we will not be gaslit by any gender any longer – sincerely, a WOMAN, who believes evidence over agenda.
Ah the Deppites are here.I’m not sure how Amber Heard being guilty of defamation means that Depp didn’t strangle that AD (and indeed the UK court found that Depp had assaulted Heard.)Man’s a violent unstable piece of shit and no court verdict can erase that.
Its a bot that’s spamming with the same copy/paste on all the Depp articles.
The fact that his fans could ignore the violent, twisted things he said about Amber in those texts to his friend…is scary. Or the fact that he is literal best friends with another sick, violent abuser of women, Marilyn Manson. But sure, he just an innocent little lamb and big scary Amber abused him. 🙄
counterpoint – johnny depp is violent, pill-addled degenerate.
and he’ll be touring with Alice Cooper this summer!
I’m curious, how does is feel to be this stupid?
It’s like being nude, lying on cotton and floating in warm water.
Men AND women are both capable of toxicity and we’ve seen yours“Me just kinda say things whether they are relevant to anything or not. Wimmim are meanie-meanie-poo-poos.”
Ellen Barkin, famously only shone in the sunlight briefly due to the Jonny Depp trial. Alas the glitter of that magical time is gone.
While we all appreciate your contribution to the discourse, I am sad to report that it won’t make it any more possible that Johnny will ask you out.
15 minutes of fame? Are you nuts? The woman’s had a 45+ year career.Sit down.
We should all be so lucky to have “15 minutes of fame” that includes winning an Emmy, a Tony, and getting a few Golden Globe nominations!
johnny doesnt give a fuck about you. get a life.
Johnny Depp won. Amber Heard is guilty of defamation. Ellen Barkin, you cannot re-write history in order to extend your 15 minutes of fame. Men AND women are both capable of toxicity and we’ve seen yours, and we will not be gaslit by any gender any longer – sincerely, a WOMAN, who believes evidence over agenda.
AHEM!
”Men, women AND non-binary-fluid persons of gender are ALL capable of toxicity.”
Check yo’ self, foole!
get fucked
I’m confused, aren’t we supposed to railing against this person because they’re old? Or does that only apply to old white dudes?
My admiration for her continues to rise.
You call your penis “admiration”?
That’s pretty cool, actually.
shut the fuck up
I’m pretty solidly not on the side of the Depp devotees, and think Amber Heard has been treated abominably by press & fans, but Ellen Barkin was consciously and voluntarily married to notorious evil asshole Ron Perelman for several years (tales of his favorite hobby, getting waiters fired and terrorizing service staff, used to be a Spy staple), and I’ve kind of viewed her with a fishy eye ever since knowing that.
Phew. Until I had googled his name, I thought you’d meant to type “Perlman.”Glad to know the actor behind Hellboy isn’t that kind of asshole.
Yeah, but she got glorious revenge on him after he threw her out. Her jewelry auction was *legendary*.
Well, that’s good to know at least.