The Idol star Lily-Rose Depp’s profile is on the rise, thanks to the debut of her controversy-stirring HBO show, in which she plays a purpose-seeking pop star opposite The Weeknd’s grimy club owner/cult leader.
With such prestige-TV fame comes deeper scrutiny into one’s personal life, and this week, Depp was photographed kissing rapper 070 Shake after the two enjoyed a night out at Lure FishBar in New York City. (Savvy readers will recall that Lure is also a favorite hotspot of Taylor Swift, who was last spotted dining at the chic Mercer Street restaurant in April.)
In the new photos, Shake (given name Danielle Balbuena) has her hand down the back of Depp’s skirt, and the two look totally enamored with one another.
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For those unfamiliar with Shake, the 26-year-old’s career began with groundswell success on SoundCloud, and after signing to Kanye West’s GOOD Music label in 2016, her profile grew with well-received (though largely uncredited) work on the rapper’s 2018 album Ye. Since then, she’s collaborated with the likes of DJ Khaled, Madonna, and Swedish House Mafia.
But Depp is the real focal point here, because it happens that the young star already has a couple of paparazzi-captured flings under her belt that recall the halcyon days of early aughts celebrity culture, when famous people weren’t so buckled down and compulsively private.
It’s also perhaps an obvious point, but photos of the 24-year-old making out on the street with someone’s hands on her butt could just be great guerrilla PR for The Idol, a show that, two episodes in, is already sparking outrage for its overtly horny content.
We doubt it, though, because Depp just seems to be naturally adept (sorry) at making out with people in public. In 2021, she was seen sucking face with Elvis star Austin Butler in London. Three months later, she lowered her face mask in a supermarket to make out with the French rapper Yassine Stein.
Depp’s most memorable PDA moment, however, hit the internet back in 2019, when she was photographed straddling Timothée Chalamet, her co-star in the Netflix movie The King, on a boat in Capri, Italy.
Chalamet later expressed embarrassment at the photos, which went viral due to the fact that the two actors appeared to be burying their tongues in each other’s throats like their lives depended on it.
“I went to bed that night thinking that was one of the best days of my life,” he mournfully told GQ in 2020 when asked about the photos. “I was on this boat all day with someone I really loved, and closing my eyes, I was like, indisputably, ‘That was great.’ And then waking up to all these pictures, and feeling embarrassed, and looking like a real nob? All pale?”
Chalamet is a big Dune star now, so his various flings—like his rumored one with Kylie Jenner that was recently captured by long-lensed paparazzi photographers—are more likely to be kept under wraps. Meanwhile, Depp, who hasn’t quite reached A-list status—at least not yet—is still out here, packing on the PDA for all to see.
