Alice Cooper says that some of the lyrical themes on the upcoming HOLLYWOOD VAMPIRES album “Rise” were inspired by a wave of negative press — including a controversial story by Rolling Stone— his bandmate Johnny Depp faced last year.

“I think [Johnny] wrote a lot of songs on this album that are [to] get back at people,” Cooper tells Ultimate Classic Rock in a new interview. “[The album’s first single] ‘Who’s Laughing Now’ is him going, ‘Okay, you’ve set out everything you can do to destroy me, who’s laughing now? I’m still here. And I’m making these records and I’m still going to make movies and I’m still a better actor than most of the people out there. Who’s laughing now?’ There’s two or three songs like that on the album that I’m singing and going, ‘Wow, I’m the voice of Johnny‘s anger. [Laughs] Normally, I’m writing songs that concern me. Now, I’m sort of the mouthpiece for Johnny, which is great.”

In late 2017, Depp sued his former lawyers, accusing them of “professional malpractice, breach of fiduciary duty and unjust enrichment.” The actor claimed they mismanaged his funds and gave him bad advice in his divorce battle with Amber Heard. The defendants fired back, insisting Depp is solely to blame for his financial woes.

Depp also filed a $50 million defamation lawsuit against Heard after she wrote an op-ed for the Washington Post in December 2018 in which she described being an alleged victim of domestic violence. While she never mentioned Depp by name, the actor’s lawsuit called her allegations against him a “hoax,” according to People.

Heard and Depp were married in 2015 and split a year later. The two settled their divorce in 2017, with Depp agreeing to pay $7 million in a settlement that Heard donated to charity. Both actors signed NDAs barring them from discussing their relationship publicly.

“Rise” will be released on June 21 via earMUSIC.

Fonte: Blabbermouth.net