While the judge in Amber Heard’s defamation trial with her ex-husband Johnny Depp proceeds to deliberate, a petition requesting that DC Warner Bros. remove her from the role of Queen Mera in Aquaman 2 has stopped 4.4 million signatures.
According to the lawsuit, Heard was “exposed as a domestic abuser by Johnny Depp” during their multimillion-dollar court battle. So far, over 4.4 million individuals have signed the petition, falling just shy of the 4.5 million signature requirement.
If the campaign achieves 4.5 million signatures, it will be one of the most renowned on Change.org. It comes as the jury deliberating on Depp and Heard’s defamation claims is set to continue deliberations today, after failing to achieve a verdict on Tuesday in the widely watched six-week trial.
The seven-member civil jury heard final arguments Friday and deliberated for about two hours prior leaving for the lengthy Memorial Day weekend. The jury considered for another seven hours on Tuesday. On Wednesday, they will resume their conversations in Fairfax County Circuit Court.
Depp is suing Heard for $50 million, stating that in a 2018 op-ed, she attributed to herself as a “public figure symbolizing domestic abuse.” Heard filed a $100 million complaint against the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ actor after his attorney denied her accusations as fraudulent. Both blame the other for undermining their own professions.
Witnesses testified about a slew of heinous occurrences from their brief marriage throughout the six-week trial. According to Heard, Depp assaulted her many times.
Depp stated that he never hit Heard, that she made up the abuse allegations, and that she was the one who physically attacked him many times throughout his testimony.
During closing statements, both sides persuaded the judge that a good ruling would allow them to reclaim their clients’ lives.
On Tuesday, Depp’s attorneys asked Judge Penney Azcarate to instruct the jury to disregard a portion of Heard’s lawyer’s closing speech. According to Depp’s attorneys, Heard’s counsel told the panel that the case’s decision will communicate to “every victim of domestic abuse everywhere.”
According to Heard’s attorney, Benjamin Rottenborn, a conviction against Heard “sends a message that despite what you do as an abuse victim, you always have to do more.”
‘No matter how truthful you are about your own deficiencies and weaknesses in a relationship, you must look ideal in order for people to believe you. Don’t send that message,’ Rottenborn implored.
As per Depp’s lawyers, Rottenborn’s argument incorrectly forced the jury to focus on a larger societal purpose rather than the matter at hand.
‘Such an argument by Ms. Heard’s counsel encourages the jury to decide the case ‘based on emotion and prejudice,’ according to Depp’s attorneys, and a specific jury direction is necessary to address this impropriety.
