Credit: Disney/Warner Bros.On Wednesday, Johnny Depp took the stand once again in his $50 million defamation suit against ex-wife Amber Heard. Depp is suing Heard after she wrote an Op-Ed for The Washington Post in which she described herself as a victim of domestic abuse.
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Heard, who is countersuing Depp for $100 million, rested her case on Tuesday, while Depp’s team is expected to wrap up within the next few days with closing arguments scheduled to begin Friday.
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During Wednesday’s testimony, Depp testified that he helped Heard secure her role in Aquaman (2018). Heard previously testified that he wasn’t involved in the casting.
“It’s not exactly true,” Mr. Depp said to the jury. “I made a phone call, and I spoke to three upper echelon Warner executives, Kevin Tsujihara, Sue Kroll, Greg Silverman. I can only say that ultimately, she did get the job in the film. Hopefully, I had curbed their worries to some degree.”
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According to The Hollywood Reporter, Ms. Heard was concerned after auditioning for the role in 2015 due to ongoing legal issues in Australia, where the Warner Bros. film was shot. The Aquaman star was prosecuted in 2016 for illegally bringing her dogs into the country. Still, the charges were dropped in exchange for Heard pleading guilty to making a false customs declaration.
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Earlier this week, industry insider Kathryn Arnold testified that Heard’s Aquaman co-star Jason Momoa and director James Wan fought with executives to keep her in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023). From Screenrant:
“Ms. Heard was not invited to be either in the poster or to be at the [FanDome] event, and, in fact, they told her she cannot come. In February 2021, there were conversations that Amber’s, I’m going to be technical with you, her option for employment was not going to be exercised. So they may not have hired her again. Her management team fought very hard and they ultimately ended up hiring her, but not only because of what her management did, but also because star Jason Momoa and director James Wan committed to her.”
Today, Johnny Depp will continue to testify in his defamation suit against Amber Heard. Inside the Magic will report on any significant updates from the trial.
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