Ayo Edebiri says she faced death threats online after Elon Musk spread rumors that she would star in a Pirates of the Caribbean movie.
The Opus actress, 29, shared Instagram Stories reacting to news coverage of Musk and his involvement with President Donald Trump’s administration on Tuesday, March 12. Edebiri posted an image of Musk’s Feb. 7, 2024 post on his platform X (formerly Twitter) in which he wrote “Disney sucks” and shared a report claiming Edebiri was replacing Johnny Depp in a future Pirates sequel.
“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 a double s**g h**l-ing fascist, he’s an idiot. but anyway.”
“Life is, of course, a gift,” Edebiri added in her post.
Depp, 61, last played Jack Sparrow in 2017’s Dead Men Tell No Tales, and franchise producer Jerry Bruckheimer most recently described the next film in the series as a “reboot,” though he has also admitted he would prefer for Depp to reprise his role again.
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In December 2024, Variety reported that Bruckheimer is developing two versions of a sixth Pirates movie in order to leave a potential path for Depp to return, citing anonymous sources. Margot Robbie was at one point attached to lead a Pirates movie.
Edebiri’s personal criticism of Musk, the world’s wealthiest person, came just after she shared quotes from comedian Bill Burr on her Instagram Stories in which he also criticized Musk and called him “evidently a Nazi” during a March 10 interview on NPR.
After one of Edebiri’s Instagram followers responded to her post about Pirates and Musk and suggested she would succeed in a Pirates role, the actress and comedian wrote, “@waltdisneyfrozenhead wait not DEI, but I’ve changed my mind maybe we could make some money idk lmk.”
The star’s next movie Opus is in theaters March 14. On top of Edebiri’s Emmy-winning role in The Bear, she is also expected to write and star in Daniel Kaluuya’s in-the-works live-action Barney movie.
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