Is Amber Heard really out of Aquaman 2?
On June 14, a report claimed that Warner Bros. will recast the 36-year-old actress in the sequel of the blockbuster hit. Her rep told E! News, “The rumor mill continues as it has from day one—inaccurate, insensitive, and slightly insane.”
According to Just Jared, a “source” said that her part as Mera will be reshot and this time they’ll be using a new actress in her place. However, Just Jared shared an “update” stating that insiders close to the movie’s production mentioned that Amber hasn’t been completely cut from the sequel but she will only have a small role.
Long before the report surfaced, Amber has testified in court that her career was affected in a negative way by the legal battle between her and her ex-husband Johnny Depp.
During the trial, Amber voiced out that her part in the Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom was reduced after Adam Waldman, Johnny’s previous lawyer, argued that the domestic abuse allegations she wrote about on her op-ed that was published on The Washington Post in 2018 were part of an “elaborate hoax.”
In her testimony, she mentioned, “I was given a script and then given new versions of the script. Without giving any spoilers away…they basically took a bunch out of my role.”
Amber never mentioned Johnny’s name in the op-ed but his lawyers argued that the essay “depends on the central premise that Ms. Heard was a domestic abuse victim and that Mr. Depp perpetrated domestic violence against her.”
Their defamation trial lasted for six weeks before a Virginia jury ruled on June 1 that the actress was liable for defaming her ex-husband. The jury awarded the Pirates of the Caribbean actor $10 million in compensatory damages and the reduced punitive damages amounting to $350,000. Meanwhile, Amber was awarded $2 million in compensatory damages in her countersuit.
A day after the verdict was announced, Amber’s lawyer Elaine Bredehoft told Savannah Guthrie of Today, “That’s because she was demonized here. A number of things were allowed in this court that should not have been allowed, and it caused the jury to be confused.”
She also said, “It’s a horrible message. It’s a significant setback, because that’s exactly what it means. Unless you pull out your phone and you video your spouse or your significant other beating you, effectively you won’t be believed.”
