• Christina Ricci says Johnny Depp taught her what being gay was on a phone call when she was 9.
  • Depp was dating Winona Ryder when Ricci asked Ryder what being gay was on the set of "Mermaids."
  • Ryder put Ricci on the phone with Depp to explain.

Christina Ricci said Johnny Depp explained to her what gay meant over a phone call when she was 9 years old during the filming of "Mermaids."

"Johnny [Depp] is actually the person who explained to me what homosexuality was when I was 9," she told Andy Cohen during an interview on SiriusXM's Andy Cohen Live released Thursday.

The "Yellowjackets" star said the conversation stemmed from a homophobic incident occurring on the set of the film, which she called her "first movie set."

"There was something going on on set and someone was not being nice to someone else. And they were like, 'oh, well he might be homophobic.' And then I was like, 'well, I don't understand what that is,'" the Emmy-nominated actress continued. 

Winona Ryder, Cher, and Christina Ricci starred in the film "Mermaids" in 1990. Foto: Photo by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/Getty Images)

Ricci recalled turning to her "Mermaids" costar Winona Ryder for clarity. Ryder, who was dating Depp at the time, had trouble articulating homosexuality to the curious young actress, so she asked her partner to help. 

"She was like, 'I don't know how...' so she put me on the phone with Johnny. And Johnny explained it to me," Ricci told Cohen. 

She said Depp used the "simplest terms" to explain homosexuality to her. "He was like, 'it's when a man wants to have sex with a man, and when a woman wants to have sex with a woman.' And I was like, 'ah okay,'" Ricci recalled.

Winona Ryder and Johnny Depp in Los Angeles, California circa 1990. Foto: Barry King/WireImage

Depp and Ryder dated for four years, from 1989 to 1993. "Mermaids" was released in 1990. 

Cohen pointed out the irony of Ricci talking to Ryder and Depp when their other "Mermaids" costar Cher, who many consider a queer icon, was nearby. "I love it, that Winona Ryder had to put you on the phone with Johnny Depp to get that story that she couldn't spit it out in some way — or, I mean, you've got Cher in the next trailer," he said.

"I know, we should've run right over there," Ricci joked.

See the full conversation below.

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