Fans of Johnny Depp grow concerned after photos spark speculation that the star is ‘ill’

PHOTOS of Johnny Depp posing with fans show him looking pale and gaunt, raising speculation that the star is gravely ill.

Johnny Depp

WHAT’S happened to Johnny Depp? Is it his new mohawk hair style? Is it a lack of sunshine? Or stress brought on by legal woes? Perhaps it’s his exhausting tour schedule.

Whatever it is, fans are concerned for his wellbeing after images circulated on social media of the Hollywood star looking pale, gaunt and unwell as he posed for photos with fans in Russia.

The photos were taken at the Four Seasons Hotel in St Petersburg, where Depp had performed with his band, The Hollywood Vampires.

Fans speculated on whether or not Depp’s appearance was the result of illness or his lifestyle. Or perhaps he was cultivating his image for an upcoming role.

Oh. My. God. Wth https://t.co/1j5H9xMmZ8

— Nadia Essex (@LadyNadiaEssex) June 2, 2018

Hope this is for an upcoming role 😩

— Andrea 🇨🇴🇬🇧 (@andreacrane1995) June 2, 2018

Depp, 54, now sports a mohawk haircut and lacks his trademark tan, long hair, moustache and beard, which he wore for his character of Jack Sparrow. Some fans didn’t approve of the new image.

Johnny Depp performs with the Hollywood Vampires in Russia. Picture: TheMegaAgency.com

“Please grow some hair on your head and face, and get suntanned,” posted one Instagrammer.

Others posted comments saying that Depp’s undercut hairstyle made him look like a cancer patient. But diehard fans defended the star’s appearance. “I like his hair … He looks happy,” posted @carriecafe.

“He looks like this for a new movie, he is fine and not sick,” posted @astridinfrance.

Comments on Instagram also raised the possibility that that this is what Depp looks like without his trademark Pirates of the Caribbean make-up.

Another Instagrammer even suggested that the star might be high.

A third image, taken last week at Moscow’s Mayakovsky State Museum, shows the gaunt star wearing a hat and dark shades.

Depp visited the museum, dedicated to the Soviet poet Vladimir Mayakovsky, hours after arriving in the Russian capital.

Staff at the museum were thrilled by the note Depp left in the visitor book afterwards.

It read: “I have been completely humbled by your hospitality and such proximity to the genius of Mayakovsky.”

Depp has been embroiled in a legal dispute with his former management company over his claims they mismanaged his millions and left him vulnerable.

He is also being sued by former bodyguards who claimed that he forced them to work in a toxic environment.

Johnny Depp in November 2015. Some fans are fearing that the actor is now ill. Picture: AFP Photo/Valerie Macon

Earlier this month, he was accused of threatening to punch a crew member on the set of his new movie, LAbyrinth.

The star — once hailed as one of the world’s most beautiful men — has been nominated for three Academy Awards since his career launched in 1984.

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Johnny Depp with his ex-wife Amber Heard. The couple divorced acrimoniously after just 15 months of marriage. Picture: Ian Gavan/Getty Images

He has been married twice, most recently to the actress Amber Heard who alleged that Depp was physically abusive.

The couple divorced acrimoniously in 2016 amid accusations of alcoholism and drug use.

Depp had a long-term partnership with French actress Vanessa Paradis and they have two children together.

Johnny Depp with former partner Vanessa Paradis, the mother of his daughter Lily-Rose and son Jack, in 2001.

When he’s not acting in Hollywood movies, Depp tours the world with The Hollywood Vampires, the supergroup he formed with Alice Cooper as a tribute band to rock stars who have died prematurely.

But Depp’s fans sincerely hope that he is not planning on joining the dearly departed any time soon.

The Hollywood Vampires - Alice Cooper, Johnny Depp and Joe Perry — performing at Moscow’s Olympic stadium last week.

“[Y]ou need to be eating more, sir, you are looking a little thin,” wrote @wickedwolfink. “We don’t want to lose you.”

“I think that my hero looks ill,” one admirer posted on Twitter.

But since Depp turns 55 on June 9, perhaps he’s just looking his age.