Johnny Depp’s talent agent says fallout fromAmber Heard’s 2018 op-ed about domestic violence was “catastrophic” for the movie star’s career.
Jack Whigham, Depp’s talent manager from Creative Artists Agency, testified on Monday, speaking on how theWashington Postopinion piece published in December 2018 damaged Depp’s reputation in Hollywood.
Whigham said that he had “closed a deal” for Depp to star inPirates of the Caribbean 6for $22.5 million. He said, however, that in early 2019 it “became clear [producers at Disney] were going in a different direction” that did not include Depp. (It was previously announced that Margot Robbie wouldlead a rebooted entry of thePiratesfranchise.)
“After the op-ed, it was impossible to get him a studio film, which is what we normally would have been focussed on in that time period,” said Whigham.
Reps for Disney didn’t immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
When Heard’s attorney said in cross-examination that there was no written proof or contract stating Depp would return for a sixthPiratesmovie, Whigham said he’d sometimes done verbal agreements about pricing for a client’s pay in a potential project.
“It would be fair to say I have never seen a document … I have not seen ‘22 million’ written down on a page, you’re correct about that,” Whigham admitted.
Depp resigned from his role in theFantastic Beastsfranchise, a Warner Bros. property, in November 2020 after losinghis highly publicized U.K. libel lawsuit caseagainst British tabloidThe Sunfor calling him a “wife-beater.” The court upheld the outlet’s claims as being “substantially true” and Heard testified to back up the claims. In March 2021, his attempt tooverturn the decision was overruled.
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Heard and Depp met while making the 2011 movieThe Rum Diary, and they married in 2015. They broke up in May 2016, when Heard sought a domestic violence restraining order against him, accusing him of abusing her. Depp denied the claims, and the former couple settled theirdivorceout of court in August 2016.
Concluding his testimony last week, Depp — who has said multiple times under oath that he has never struck Heard or any woman — said that, after Heard’s allegations against him, he lost “nothing short of everything.”
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He has testified that his “goal is the truth” as he seeks to clear his name in this trial, which is being televised live via various outlets. Ahead of the trial, Heard — who is expected to take the stand later this week — said in a statement that “hopefully when this case concludes, I can move on and so can Johnny. I have always maintained a love for Johnny and it brings me great pain to have to live out the details of our past life together in front of the world.”
While discussing his falling out with Disney executives, however, Depp said he felt he’d become “guilty until proven innocent.” The star said on the stand that he would not work with Disney again, even if they offered him $300 million.
source: people.com
