Ayo Edebiri has revealed that she received death threats and racist comments after Elon Musk shared a fake news story about her replacing Johnny Depp in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. In February 2024, Musk shared a fake report claiming Disney was considering Edebiri to replace Depp in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise with the caption, “Disney Sucks.” Musk is certainly no stranger to sharing false information, but this headline caught the attention of some bad people who decided to take their anger out on the Emmy award-winning star of The Bear.
In an Instagram story (via Variety), Edebiri explained how Musk boosting a fake Pirates of the Caribbean news story resulted in her receiving “some of the most insane death threats and racial slurs of my life.” Edebiri clearly debunked the rumor that she is in any way attached to the next Pirates of the Caribbean film, while calling Musk an “idiot” and a “double Sieg Heil-ing fascist,” the latter in reference to Musk twice giving what appeared to be a Nazi salute at Donald Trump’s inauguration in January:
“Just remembering when I got some of the most insane death threats and racial slurs of my life (idk if it’s the #1 moment, but for sure top 3) for a fake reboot of a movie I had never even heard of because of this man. LMAO. So not only is he double Sieg Heil-ing fascist, he’s an idiot but anyway.”
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While Disney is developing a sixth entry in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, Edebiri isn’t part of it. As for the status of Johnny Depp, that remains to be seen. While producer Jerry Bruckheimer has expressed interest in bringing the actor back to play Jack Sparrow, Depp himself has said he has no interest in working with Disney ever again after he felt betrayed by them following his very public defamation case with ex-wife Amber Heard. There was talk about a Margot Robbie-led Pirates of the Caribbean spin-off film, but it’s unclear if that project is still in development.
It is safe to assume, though, that Robbie did not receive the same vitriol or death threats from people online that Edebri did, highlighting a huge ongoing problem in fan culture and on social media.
The Dangers of Sharing False Information
Many of the people who attacked Edebiri online are likely among those who see any inclusion of non-white actors as “forced diversity” or “virtue signaling,” but a good portion of them might also be Johnny Depp fans. Depp’s fans have become extremely hostile and protective of the star online, as they think he was unfairly treated during his divorce from Amber Heard, and they have a tendency to attack anyone who they perceive as taking work from Depp. There is no denying that fandom spaces have become more toxic, and that social media has made it easy to send death threats and racist remarks to talent, particularly women of color. Kelly Marie Tran from Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Moses Ingram in Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Rachel Zegler in Snow White are just a few of the names that have been on the receiving end of some truly repugnant racist comments from certain segments of fandom. No one’s supposed “love” of a franchise should inspire them to send death threats or use racist slurs – it is blatantly unacceptable.
Edebiri’s story also highlights the importance of reporting actual news stories, because chasing scoops for clicks or publishing obvious headline bait can have disturbing and even dangerous consequences. Musk might not have even read the story. He likely just saw the headline and reposted it. But that reckless posting lent validity to a fake news story, and inspired Musk’s followers to send death threats and racist slurs to a woman for no reason whatsoever.
Musk’s recent appointment by the Trump administration to the head of the newly formed and so far largely incompetent Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has been disastrous. Maybe an adult man who clearly can’t differetiate real news from fake news, even when it comes to something as frivolous as movie casting, shouldn’t be given so much power.
Source: Variety
Pirates of the Caribbean
Summary
Pirates of the Caribbean is a series of fantasy adventure films directed by Gore Verbinski (1–3) and Rob Marshall (4), written by Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer. All four films are based on a Walt Disney theme park ride of the same name, and follow the adventures of Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp), Will Turner (Orlando Bloom), Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley), Captain Hector Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush), Joshamee Gibbs (Kevin McNally), Davy Jones (Bill Nighy), Angelica (Penélope Cruz), Blackbeard (Ian McShane), Philip Swift (Sam Claflin) and the mermaid Syrena (Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey).
The films started with their first release on the big screen in 2003 with Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. After the success of the first film, Walt Disney Pictures revealed that a trilogy was in the works. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest was released three years later in 2006. The sequel proved successful, breaking records worldwide the day of its premiere. In the end, it earned $1,066,179,725 at the worldwide box office, becoming the fourth and fastest film (at the time) to reach this amount. The third film in the series, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, was released in 2007. In September 2008, Depp signed on for a fourth film in the franchise, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, released on May 20, 2011 in conventional 2D, Digital 3-D and IMAX 3D. It succeeded in grossing more than $1 billion, becoming the eighth and fourth-fastest film to achieve this. So far, the film franchise has grossed $3.72 billion worldwide and it is the only franchise with two films that reached $1 billion worldwide. It is the fourth highest-grossing film series of all-time. It has been confirmed that two more installments to the franchise are included in Disney’s future plans. In July 2011, Johnny Depp confirmed he was closing in on a deal for a fifth installment and that the franchise wouldn’t be going ahead without Depp’s participation.
