When Amber Heard Caused a $22.5M Dent in Johnny Depp's Career With Her Op-ed Piece

One of the most extensively reported courtroom trials remains the defamation lawsuit between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard. In a controversial opinion piece published in 2018, Heard identified herself as a “public figure representing domestic abuse” and directly implicated Depp. The couple tied the knot in 2015 and finalized their divorce in 2017.

Following the publication of the op-ed, Depp faced severe career setbacks as no one in the entertainment business wanted to collaborate with someone accused of domestic abuse. As per Fandom Wire, during their famous trial, Depp's talent manager made the shocking revelation that the Pirates of the Caribbean actor was fired from the sixth installment of the franchise after initially agreeing on a $22.5 million deal with the makers.

As reported by Variety, Depp accused Heard of destroying his career by publishing the article. When questioned by his attorney, Depp testified that the sixth installment by Disney remained in 'dangle mode.' “...It doesn’t surprise me,” he testified. “Two years had gone by of constant worldwide talk about me being this wife-beater. So I’m sure that Disney was trying to cut ties to be safe. The #MeToo movement was in full swing at that point.” He added, “I would be a real simpleton to not think that there was an effect on my career based on Ms. Heard’s words, whether they mentioned my name or not.” He further stated that his career was 'done' from “the second the allegations were made against [him].” 

As per Too Fab, Depp expressed his angst about being fired from the iconic role, "It was like somebody hit me in the back of the head with a 2x4 and, as I said, I had no ability to speak...because even if I'd done an interview to try and explain myself, it turned into a hit piece. So my mouth was shut," he added. "And this was the opportunity where I thought, something's gotta be done. I couldn't take it anymore."

"Captain Jack Sparrow was a character I built from the ground up and was something that I, of course, put a lot of [myself] into the character and also having worked on these films with these people and added much of myself, much of my own re-writing of the dialogue and scenes and jokes," Depp explained his plight during the trial. "I didn't quite understand how, after that long relationship, and quite a successful relationship certainly for Disney, that suddenly I was guilty until proven innocent."

A few days after firing Depp from the noted franchise, Sean Bailey, President of Walt Disney Pictures, told The Hollywood Reporter in 2018 that the studio had hired new writers to reboot the film without the famous 'Jack Sparrow' character. "We want to bring in a new energy and vitality. I love the [Pirates] movies, but part of the reason Paul and Rhett are so interesting is that we want to give it a kick in the pants. And that’s what I’ve tasked them with," he explained back then.