Yesterday was another big day in Hollywood. Supporters of Pirates of the Caribbean star Johnny Depp rolled out a petition to demand justice for the actor and bring him back to the Fantastic Beasts franchise, following his defeat in the high-stake libel trial against The Sun’s publishers News Group Newspapers and its executive editor Dan Wootton, over a 2018 article which referred to him as a wife beater. With signatures hitting one million, Depp’s fans started another online petition calling for the removal of his estranged spouse Amber Heard from the upcoming second installment in the Aquaman film series. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, the actor-model has now responded to rumours of her dismissal from the franchise.
“Paid rumours and paid campaigns on social media don’t dictate [casting decisions] because they have no basis in reality. Only the fans actually made Aquaman and Aquaman 2 happen. I’m excited to get started next year,” Heard said in a statement. She threw shade at the millions of people who have signed the petition and accused her of carrying out a “systematic crusade to ruin Depp in Hollywood”.
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Talking to the publication, Heard continued, “I’m super excited about the amount of fan love and the amount of fan appreciation that Aquaman has acquired and that it has garnered so much excitement for Aquaman and Mera that it means we’ll be coming back. I’m so excited to film that.” In a statement last week, Depp called the UK court’s decision over his case “surreal” and said that he plans to appeal the verdict. “My life and career will not be defined by this moment in time,” he added. Despite being forced to exit Fantastic Beasts 3, after filming just one scene, Depp will still receive his entire $10m (£7.6m) salary, as per his contract. His fans are not pleased to know that actor Mads Mikkelsen might be taking over the reins as Gellert Grindelwald in the forthcoming film.
