Johnny Depp and his daughter Lily Rose-Depp’s relationship has been good, although at times it seems they are distant. But many might wonder what it’s like to be Depp’s children dwelling on the question of how the actor would raise a kid?
Looking back at Rose-Depp’s early life, it is evident that Depp was indeed a different kind of parent. While The Idol actor was 13, Depp offered her marijuana and that sparked a huge debate online when Depp revealed the particular anecdote.
Johnny Depp Gave his Daughter Marijuana When She Was Just 13
It came out as a shocker. Of course, anyone would think twice before giving their kids any drug substance. Johnny Depp, however, had a discussion with his ex and Lily Rose-Depp’s mother Vanessa Paradis about it and he said that he did not encourage her to take marijuana. At his libel trial against The Sun, Depp said,
“My daughter was 13-years-old and as we all know at 11, 12, and 13-years-old when you go to a high school party you are approached by people who will want to give you drink because they are drinking at 12 and 13, doing cocaine at 12 and 13, and smoking marijuana at 12 and 13, doing ecstasy and doing many many drugs.”
Depp’s daughter was at a party and “someone passed the joint to her. She was just 12 and she said she didn’t know what to do,” he recalled. Rose-Depp opening up to her father about it was indeed commendable, many children would follow the same taboo and fall victim of substance abuse as they grow up. But Depp gave his daughter a valuable lesson, “‘Listen sweetheart, if you are at a party and someone hands you the joint, take the joint from the person and pass it to the next person.” Further, he asked her to not experience drugs with unknown people.
Is Johnny Depp A Responsible Parent?
Why did Depp give marijuana to his daughter when she was just 13? Well, the Pirates of the Caribbean star has explained a valid reason for it although it has raised a huge question mark on his parenting. Depp revealed that marijuana with unknown people could lead to other substance abuse. So, he asked teenage Rose-Depp whenever she’s ready to have a puff.
“Please, please, when you are really at the moment in your life when you are passed the joint and you really want to try it, I said please do me the honour of coming to me when you are ready, and you really feel you are ready. I don’t want your first experience to be with people you don’t know, taking things you don’t know, that you don’t trust.”
Depp explained that it was a safety issue, “it’s a father worried about his daughter in this kind of situation.” Depp gave marijuana when she came and said “we are ready.” It was a difficult situation for Depp as well. So, he would rather “have them be honest with me and me be honest with them, so she doesn’t go out there and do things and hide them from me.”
“I want her to trust me. If my daughter says she was ready, she was ready. I wanted to make sure the settings were perfection, put on family TV, fill the refrigerator with ice cream, fill the freezer, make a situation where the experience is as pleasant as possible.”
Adding to the list of reasons, Depp further explained that he knew the marijuana he smoked. “I don’t want a 13-year-old going into some sort of paranoid tailspin,” he said, adding that the marijuana he had was trustworthy and good quality.
Source: Evening Standard
