Disney Keeps Distance, Johnny Depp Calls Amber Heard Ruined His Career

JAKARTA - The polemic of the relationship between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard turned out to have a significant impact on their careers. Johnny Depp said Disney was wary of working with him before his ex-wife Amber Heard wrote an opinion piece about his abuse in December 2018, when his cross-examination took place in a Virginia courtroom.

Depp accused Heard of ruining his career by publishing the work. He sued her for $50 million, alleging that her claims were fabricated and that he was the one who beat her.

Under questioning from his own lawyer, Depp said that Disney fired him from the sixth installment of "Pirates of the Caribbean" days after the opinion was published. The film has not yet been produced and is currently unclear.

But on cross-examination, Heard's attorney, Ben Rottenborn, asked about a Daily Mail article from October 2018, which reported that Depp "quit as Jack Sparrow".

"I didn't realize it but it didn't surprise me. Two years have passed with constant talk around the world about me being a wife-beater. So I'm sure Disney was trying to cut ties to be safe. The #MeToo movement was in full swing at the time." Depp told Variety on Thursday, April 21.

Heard first accused Depp of domestic violence when he filed a restraining order in 2016. The charges ended when the couple's divorce was finalized months later.

He and Heard issued a joint statement that included the sentence that "neither side makes false accusations for financial gain."

Depp said lawyers had made the statement, and he wanted to fight the accusation because there was no truth in it. But in the end, Depp agreed to pay the $7 million he promised to donate after finalizing the divorce.

"The advice I received was not to fight him. I wasn't given much choice," said Depp.

Depp's lawsuit alleges he suffered career losses when Heard again mentioned the abuse but did not give his name.

To win, Depp will have to show that his career meltdown stemmed from the 2018 post and not from his earlier accusations. Depp argues that the work did have an effect.

"I was really stupid not to think that there was an influence on my career based on Ms. Heard's words, whether they said my name or not," said Depp.

But he also stated that his career was immediately over when Heard's accusations were leveled against him.

"Once that happened, I lost. No matter the outcome of this trial, I will carry him for the rest of my life. I am suing him for libel and the various falsehoods he used to end my life," he said.

Depp also testified that after Disney considered removing him from "Pirates of The Caribbean 6", the studio was still showing his character at theme parks around the world.

"They didn't remove my character from the rides. They didn't stop selling Captain Jack Sparrow dolls. They didn't stop selling anything. They just didn't want anything behind me that they would find," said Depp.

Heard's attorney Ben Rottenborn also referenced something Depp said in his deposition, in which he indicated that he wouldn't want to work on "Pirates 6" if it was offered to him.

"The fact is, Mr. Depp, if Disney came to you with $300 million and a million alpacas, nothing in the world would make you come back and work with Disney on the movie 'Pirates of the Caribbean'? Right?," said Rottenborn.

"That's true, Mr. Rottenborn," replied Johnny Depp, quoted from ANTARA, Thursday, April 21.

On the fifth day of trial, Tuesday, April 19, Depp's attorney, Jessica Meyers, guided him through several hours of testimony in which he recounted his fights with Heard, including an episode in which the tip of his right middle finger was severed.

Depp alleged that Heard would repeatedly attack and berate him, and that he usually hid himself by locking himself in the bedroom or bathroom. He denies ever being violent with Heard.

Meyers concludes his in-person investigation of Johnny Depp on Wednesday, April 20, afternoon. Rottenborn's cross-examination will continue on Thursday. Heard will testify in the trial, which is expected to last about six weeks.

At an earlier trial in Britain, a judge dismissed Depp's defamation claim against The Sun newspaper, finding Heard's harassment claim "substantially true."