A campaign demanding Amber Heard’s removal from the Aquaman sequel has gathered a large number of signatures amid the actor’s defamation action against Johnny Depp.
The trial of Heard and ex-husband Depp grabbed international news throughout April, as shocking information about the former couple’s relationship emerged in the Virginia courtroom.
The 58-year-old Pirates of the Caribbean star is suing Heard, 36, for $50 million after the Aquaman star referred to herself in a 2018 op-ed for The Washington Post as a “public figure symbolizing domestic abuse.” Depp has refuted charges that he was physically abusive to his ex-wife on several occasions. Heard is suing for $100 million, alleging she was only ever aggressive against Depp in self-defense or to protect her younger sister.
Supporters of the two stars have taken to social media to express their support, with Depp’s fans going one step further after he alleged that Heard was violent in their relationship.
A Change.org petition started over a year ago has found new traction in the midst of the trial, requesting that DC and Warner Bros. ‘Remove Amber Heard from Aquaman 2’. Truth be told, in simply a matter of days, the appeal has amassed almost 800,000 marks, and presently Over 4 million signatures.
According to the petition, Amber Heard has been unmasked as a domestic abuser by Johnny Depp. In his $50 million lawsuit, Johnny Depp explains different incidents of domestic abuse at the hands of his (then) wife Amber Heard, including one incident in which she smacked him twice in the face and another in which she shattered his finger with a vodka bottle, requiring surgery to reattach his finger. He will be scarred for the rest of his life as a result of it.
Finally, the description says:
Because Amber Heard is a well-known and documented domestic abuser, Warner Brothers and DC Entertainment should and must drop her from the Aquaman 2 film production. They must not dismiss the pain of Heard’s victims or glorify a domestic abuser.
Men, like women, are victims of domestic abuse. This must be acknowledged, and action done to prevent a known abuser from being honored in the entertainment sector. Do the right thing. Remove Amber Heard from Aquaman 2.
Heard played Mera, the love interest of Jason Momoa’s Aquaman and princess of Xebel, in the 2018 comic film. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, the sequel to the original film, will be released in March 2023, with Heard resuming her role.
In response to the petition, the film’s producer, Peter Safran, told the Deadline Hero Nation podcast that the filmmakers would never “respond to, honestly, pure fan pressure.”
Safran went on: “You must do what is best for the film. If it’s James Wan and Jason Momoa, we thought it should be Amber Heard. That was exactly what it was.”
