Johnny Depp has denied that he tried to get ex-wife Amber Heard fired from Aquaman.
During the ongoing defamation trial against Heard, Depp was questioned on Wednesday (May 25) as a rebuttal witness by her legal team.
Asked about allegations that he tried to get his ex-wife fired from the 2018 film, Depp claimed he contacted Warner Bros. about his split from Heard and the domestic violence allegations to warn the studio about potential negative press around Aquaman and the Fantastic Beasts franchise.
Speaking at the trial (via TheWrap), Depp said: “I felt that it was my responsibility to get the truth to Warner Bros. about what they were going to end up facing down the line which is two franchises that would be causing problems for one another.”
Depp, who officially divorced Heard in 2017, said he vouched for his ex-wife before she was cast in Aquaman, so he felt a “responsibility” to warn them about the allegations.
He added: “On one level yes, it’s just acting, it’s just movies. But, it’s business and it’s your word, and I had given my word to them and I felt responsible that I had to tell them exactly what was going on and that it was going to end up ugly.”
Heard recently claimed she had to “fight really hard” to keep her role as Mera in the upcoming Aquaman sequel, set to be released in March next year.
Speaking about her role being “pared down” for the sequel, Heard said: “I was given a script and then given new versions of the script that had taken away scenes that had action in it.”
She added: “They basically took a bunch out of my role. They just removed a bunch.”
Depp is currently suing his ex-wife for defamation over a 2018 op-ed in The Washington Post, where she wrote about being a survivor of domestic violence.
Heard didn’t mention Depp by name in the piece, though Depp’s lawyers argue it falsely implied she was sexually and physically abused by him in their marriage. She has also filed a counterclaim against her ex-husband, arguing he has created a smear campaign against her.
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