Amber Heard Says Aquaman 2 Role Was 'Pared Down' After Depp's Team Called Abuse Claims 'Hoax'

First, she said she had to "fight really hard to keep my career" after splitting from Depp in general and getting a temporary restraining order.

"After I got my TRO, I lost opportunities, I got canceled from jobs, I got dropped from a campaign I shot. I fought to keep my job in the biggest movie opportunity I had to date. It was 'Justice League' with the option to become 'Aquaman,'" she said. "It later became 'Aquaman,' but I had to fight really hard to stay in 'Justice League' because that came right around the time of the divorce."

She said she "was able to keep and make other jobs and eventually made a movie called 'Aquaman' and 'Aquaman' was very successful. I was getting my career back, even though it took a major hit when I got my restraining order against Johnny," she continued.

Around the time "Aquaman" was released, so was her op-ed in the Washington Post at the center of this defamation trial. Depp is seeking $50 million in damages after she claimed she was a survivor of domestic abuse in the 2018 op-ed. While she didn't name Depp in the piece, his lawyers argue it was implied to be about him and negatively affected his career.

She said she agreed to the op-ed because she believed in the causes the ACLU was trying to advance for women -- and confirmed the organization drafted the piece for her.

"It's not about Johnny. The only one who thought it was about Johnny is Johnny. It's about me," she said. "It's about what happened to me after Johnny. It's about what happened to me after I escaped my marriage. It's about me and my life and what I endured once I moved on and got a TRO and moved on with my life. It was about what happened to me after. The only one who made it about him, ironically, was Johnny."

Though her career was on a "positive" trajectory, she believes it went downhill following three statements Depp's UK libel trial attorney Adam Waldman made in April 2020 -- including one in which he called her claims of abuse a "hoax' and said she was using "fake sexual violence allegations as both a sword and shield."

On the stand, Heard said Waldman's allegations were false and said she hadn't even mentioned sexual abuse herself publicly at the time. She also said she refused to cooperate with police when one of her friends called 9-1-1 after the alleged fight on her 30th birthday and was actually trying to protect Depp at the time.

She said that, after those statements, her career took a hit. Heard claimed L'Oreal suspended sharing a shoot she had done for them, all promotional appearances she had planned for "The Stand" were canceled and communications with Warner Bros. on the second "Aquaman" movie "stopped at that point."

Heard then broke down her contract with the WB, saying she made $1 million plus box office bonuses for the first "Aquaman" movie before getting $2 million for the second movie. She claimed she was unable to renegotiate her contract for "Aquaman 2," and also revealed she pulled in $200,000 an episode for "The Stand."

She confirmed she will be in the second film, but claimed she "fought really hard to stay in the movie." She added, "They didn't want to include me in the film."

As for her role, she said it was "a very pared down version" of the original script.

"I was given a script and then given new versions of the script that had taken away scenes that had action in it, that depicted my character and another character -- without giving any spoilers away -- they're two characters fighting with one another and they basically took a bunch out of my role," she said. "They just removed a bunch."

She went on to talk about the emotional fallout as well, calling it "torture."

"I want to move on with my life, I have a baby, I want to move on," she said. "I want Johnny to move on too, I want him to leave me alone."

With that, Heard's attorney completed her direct examination. Cross examination will happen after a break.

TooFab has reached out to Warner Bros. for comment.