Dakota Johnson has spoken out about the abuse allegations levelled at some of her former co-stars including Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer.

The actress, known for the Fifty Shades film trilogy, starred alongside Shia LaBeouf in 2019’s The Peanut Butter Falcon, Johnny Depp in 2015’s Black Mass and Armie Hammer in David Fincher’s The Social Network.

All three actors have been subject to abuse allegations in recent years, which Johnson addressed in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.

“I never experienced that firsthand from any of those people,” Johnson said. “I had an incredible time working with them; I feel sad for the loss of great artists. I feel sad for people needing help and perhaps not getting it in time. I feel sad for anyone who was harmed or hurt. It’s just really sad.

“I do believe that people can change. I want to believe in the power of a human being to change and evolve and get help and help other people. I think there’s definitely a major overcorrection happening. But I do believe that there’s a way for the pendulum to find the middle.”

She added: “The way that studios have been run up until now, and still now, is behind. It is such an antiquated mindset of what movies should be made, who should be in them, how much people should get paid, what equality and diversity should look like. Sometimes the old school needs to be moved out for the new school to come in.

“But, yeah, cancel culture is such a fucking downer. I hate that term.”

Depp and LaBeouf have both been accused of abuse by former partners, while Hammer is facing allegations of sexual assault. All three have denied the allegations.

Hammer’s co-star in Call Me By Your Name, Timothée Chalamet, recently refused to give a “partial response” on the subject of the allegations against the actor.

“I totally get why you’re asking that,” Chalamet said. “But it’s a question worthy of a larger conversation, and I don’t want to give you a partial response.”

Johnson is set to appear in Maggie Gyllenhaal’s directorial debut The Lost Daughter, based on the novel by Elena Ferrante. The film also stars Olivia Colman, Jessie Buckley, Paul Mescal, Olivia Jackson-Cohen and Ed Harris.