Johnny Depp admits Disney cut ties on 'Pirates of the Caribbean' before Heard's op-ed

Ever since the legal sparring has begun between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard, the former had been removed from several big-budgeted films including Disney's 'Pirates of the Caribbean'. However, in the Virginia trial testimony on Wednesday, Depp admitted Disney wanted to cut ties with him, even before Amber Heard's op-ed was published in the Washington Post, as per Variety. In addition to this, Depp added that he will not return to playing the iconic Jack Sparrow, even if the giant offers him millions of money.

Johnny Depp on returning to 'Pirates of the Caribbean'

During his cross-examination on the stand, Heard's attorney when asked him about his ousts from 'Pirates of Caribbean', Depp reportedly testified that it didn't surprise him. He said, "I wasn’t aware of that, but it doesn’t surprise me. 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.”

Heard's attorney later questioned if he would return to Disney for Pirates 6 if the giant offers him millions after removing him. The attorney stated, “The fact is, Mr. Depp if Disney came to you with $300 million and a million alpacas, nothing on this earth would get you to go back and work with Disney on a ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ film? Correct?” To this Depp reportedly answered, “That is true, Mr. Rottenborn.”

Apart from the Pirates of the Caribbean, Depp previously stated that he was asked to resign from playing Grindewald in the famous Harry Potter spin-off film series 'Fantastic Beasts'. “I wish to let you know that I have been asked to resign by Warner Bros from my role as Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts and I have respected and agreed to that request,” Depp wrote in his official statement. Take a look at it here:

 It was Johnny Depp who first sued ex-wife Amber Heard for defamation after the latter wrote an op-ed for The Washington Post. In the opinion piece, Heard referred to herself as a 'public figure representing domestic abuse'. Although she did not identify Depp in her op-ed, he sued Heard for damaging his personal and professional life. After more than a year of the legal battle, Amber Heard countersued Depp alleging that he defamed her when his attorneys released statements calling her allegations of abuse a hoax. 

Image: AP