Amber Heard is facing professional and financial devastation after failing a high-profile defamation case against ex-husband Johnny Depp, which resulted in a $8.35 million compensation claim.
According to experts, there is ‘no way back for Heard in Hollywood,’ and the dramatic six-week court fight has left the actress, 36, ‘too icky for a studio,’ creating concerns about her profession and future earnings.
Throughout the trial, the actress stated that the matter had severely harmed her profession, exposing how Depp’s lawsuit prevented her from completing a vow to contribute $7 million to the American Civil Liberties Union. Kathryn Arnold, an entertainment business specialist, claimed that Heard might have earned up to $50 million.
Heard is dealing with a plethora of issues as a result of her trial setback. In terms of her future profession, Hollywood executives are unlikely to consider her for parts. Monetarily, the actress and witnesses referred to her financial difficulties, while the massive overwhelming support for Depp may cause brands and corporations to shun her.
Heard may now battle to honour different financial promises, including those to organisations such as the ACLU, and the financial strain may jeopardise her advocacy career, which has seen her support women’s rights organisations.
The reparations bill might also require her to liquidate assets, such as a $570,000 secluded retreat in Yucca Valley and a Range Rover she kept from her divorce from Depp.
The primary concern will be how Heard will pay the enormous compensation amount that she has 30 years to pay. One option, according to attorney Sandra Spurgeon of Spurgeon Law Group in Lexington, Kentucky, is that Depp waives the charge or negotiates a reduced sum.
She stated Depp in the driver’s seat right now. If the winning party plans to implement the judgement against a person who does not have the capacity to pay the judgement and does not have the ability to post the bond, there is a genuine problem.
However, if he does compel her to pay the entire price, another option could be Heard may decide to file an appeal. Though an appeal with a different judge may work in her favour, she will still be required to produce the whole amount while the appeal is being heard, which may lead her to file for bankruptcy.
According to legal contributor Jessica Levinson, a third alternative is that her future earnings be confiscated, which means that a percentage of her compensation from future films or TV series might go to Depp until the debt is paid up.
‘That’s not an exceptional circumstance when someone says, ‘I don’t have – I can’t fulfil this,’ Ms Levinson said, and I absolutely think that since she has earning potential, some of her salary might be withheld as a result.’
However, the court may rule that Heard’s prospects for future work are grim, as Hollywood insiders stated that the actress is unlikely to be considered by studio executives in light of the defamation suit. Some have speculated that she would pursue a profession advocating for victims of domestic violence, however it’s hard to see how this would support her legal difficulties.
Heard earlier noted that she had to ‘struggle’ to keep her part as Mera in the Aquaman sequel, and that she had only been cast in one other picture in the preceding two years. Mera’s involvement has earned her around $3 million.
‘There is no way back for Heard in Hollywood,’ said British public relations specialist Mark Borkowski. Are you going to hire her if you’re developing a movie or thinking about casting one?
‘Look at the massive backlash to Aquaman 2 [where a petition to have her removed from the film had four million signatures yesterday night]. The trial taints any marketing or public relations efforts to promote a picture.’
Former entertainment lawyer Matthew Belloni, who blogs about Hollywood business, said, ‘both of them will work again, but I think it will be a while before a big studio considers them ‘safe’ enough to bet on. The personal baggage exposed in this trial was simply too disgusting for a studio to cope with.’
According to Alexandra Villa of In House PR, a reputation management specialist, Amber’s career looks to be in danger at present. The major Hollywood studios will be terrified by what has occurred. Smaller productions will be reluctant to commit money in Amber for any project as well.
‘In my opinion, producers will have to think twice about hiring her right now since public opinion has moved against her.’
‘People forget that Hollywood studios are for profit. They recruit stars based on whether or not they will generate revenues. She has a hill to climb. Much of her testimony has flaws, and she may need to address them.
In light of her fight with Depp, Heard is also confronting a campaign to have her removed from Aquaman. The petition is approaching its 4.5 million signature goal, with 4.48 million presently signed. However, Spotted Media CEO Janet Comenos stated that film makers are closely watching statistics to see what the public thinks about Depp and Heard.
‘It has come up in multiple talks with producers; they are keen to understand if there is a disparity between the steps done by the studios and public opinion,’ Comenos added.
‘I think the findings suggest fairly clearly that Johnny Depp is incredibly hireable and that hiring Amber Heard would be a risk for a production business due to the sheer steep loss in appeal that she has had since the start of the trial.’
In terms of the impact on their professions, Eric Rose, a crisis management and communications expert in Los Angeles, described the trial, which lasted six weeks with a one-week respite, a “typical murder-suicide.”
‘There can be no winners in terms of reputation management,’ he stated. ‘They’ve both been bloodied. It’s more challenging for studios to hire either actor now since you risk alienating a huge portion of your fans who may not appreciate the idea that you’ve hired either Johnny or Amber for a given movie since sentiments are so strong.’
Heard hails from a devout Christian family of limited means from Texas, and she dropped out of school to seek her acting career. Her net worth is likewise unknown, with Fox Business claiming $8 million and others reporting closer to $3 million.
Following her divorce from Depp, Heard’s finances were brought into doubt after it was discovered that she made various requests to fund her lifestyle. Among them was a request for ‘exclusive use and custody’ of the black Range Rover she drove, with Depp continuing to pay for it.
She also wanted to keep living rent-free in three Los Angeles penthouses she and her friends were residing in, all of which were owned by Depp, and she requested her estranged husband to pay $125,000 of her legal and accounting bills.
During the trial, it was also discovered that she had moved into a $570,000 remote retreat in Yucca Valley, far from the glamour and glam of Los Angeles.
Heard and her sister Whitney grew raised in Austin, Texas on a low income. Her parents, David Heard and Paige Parsons, were devout Catholics, but Heard became an atheist after her best friend died in a car accident when she was 16 years old.
She dropped out of high school at the age of 17 to follow a modelling career in New York before transitioning to acting in Los Angeles. It’s unknown whether the actress is single or in a relationship, but she has had the support of a ‘special friend,’ Eve Barlow, the daughter of a Scottish GP, during the trial.
Ms Barlow expressed her solidarity for Heard during the case, tweeting the day before the verdict, ‘leave Amber Heard alone.’
Heard also unexpectedly revealed the birth of her baby girl Oonagh Paige Heard through surrogacy in April 2021.
