Johnny Depp Finally Has a Reason to Join Social Media

Johnny Depp joined Instagram Thursday and urged his fans not to succumb to the "hellish" conditions of isolation. The star—who quickly amassed more than 2 million followers—posted a photo of himself surrounded by candles with the caption, "Hello everyone... filming something for you now... gimme a minute." He followed that with an 8-minute video in which he said he'd never felt any "particular reason" to join social media until now, Variety reports. "Now is the time to open up a dialogue as the threat of this invisible enemy has already caused immeasurable tragedies and enormous damage to people’s lives," he said. "I feel we need to try to help each other throughout these dark times, these trying times—for those we love, for our community, for ourselves, for the world and for the future."

Depp urged fans to stay strong and stay creative, USA Today reports. "We cannot and must not succumb to shutting down and giving in to what feels like hellish quarantine monotony. Create something today that will benefit yourselves and others tomorrow," he said. "Do anything you think could be of use to brighten someone’s day. Draw, read, paint, think, learn, make a film on your phone, play an instrument if you play; if you don’t, learn." Depp also offered a link to a single from his new musical project, a cover of John Lennon's "Isolation" made with Jeff Beck. Blues-rock guitarist Beck also posted about the project on Instagram, "You’ll be hearing more from Johnny and me in a little while," he promised. (More Johnny Depp stories.)