Over 3 million people have signed a petition to have Amber Heard removed from the upcoming Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.
The petition, which was started in 2020, has reawakened interest in the wake of Johnny Depp’s current defamation trial against his ex-wife.
Depp, 58, is suing Heard, 36, for defamation after she penned an op-ed for The Washington Post in 2018 about surviving domestic violence, but she never named Depp by name. The $50 million lawsuits was first filed by the Fantastic Beasts actor in March of this year.
In the 2018 film Aquaman, Heard played Mera, and she will reprise her role opposite Jason Momoa in the sequel.
Heard has been “exposed as a domestic abuser by Johnny Depp,” according to the petition’s writer, referring to Depp’s lawsuit.
According to the petition, Heard has “systematically crusaded to ruin Depp’s career in Hollywood, repeating several accounts of fabricated instances in which she had genuinely assaulted Johnny Depp but lied and created bogus accounts of him being the abuser.”
It directly addresses Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment, requesting that the actress be removed from the next Aquaman feature, which is due to hit theaters next year.
During opening statements earlier this month, Heard’s attorney Ben Rottenborn said evidence will show she suffered domestic abuse by Depp that “took many forms,” including physical, emotional, verbal, and psychological, as well as “sexual violence at the hands of Depp.” A spokesperson for Depp denies the allegations, calling them “fictitious.”
Heard has not yet taken the stand in this trial.
Depp lost his widely publicized U.K. libel action against British newspaper The Sun for labeling him a “wife-beater” in November 2020. The outlet’s accusations were found to be “basically truthful” by the court, and Heard testified to back up the claims. Depp’s effort to reverse the decision was rejected in March 2021.
Change.org
Depp revealed in 2020 that he had agreed to stand down from his involvement in the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them franchise after losing his libel action.
Heard and Depp met on the set of The Rum Diary in 2011 and married in February 2015. Heard filed for a domestic violence restraining order against Depp in May 2016, accusing him of beating her.
Depp denied the claims, and they settled their divorce out of court in August 2016 (it was finalized in January 2017).
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom opens March 17, 2023.