Pirates of the Caribbean star Johnny Depp has given his opinion on why Disney decided to continue the franchise without him. Depp was the main protagonist of the first five Pirates of the Caribbean movies from Disney, playing Captain Jack Sparrow. With Pirates of the Caribbean 6 reportedly in the works, there were rumors that Depp’s Jack Sparrow would not return for the sixth installment. Depp and his ex-wife Amber Heard are back in court, where the Pirates star claims Disney decided to cut ties with him before Heard wrote a December 2018 op-ed in the Washington Post accusing him of abuse.
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Depp was in a Virginia courtroom Wednesday as he faced cross-examination. The actor is accusing Heard of ruining his career after publishing the op-ed, suing her for $50 million on the basis that her allegations are false and he is the one that was being abused in their relationship. While being questioned by his lawyer, Depp recounted how it was only days after the op-ed came out that Disney dropped him from Pirates of the Caribbean 6.
An October 2018 Daily Mail article was brought up by Heard’s attorney Ben Rottenborn that stated Depp was “out as Jack Sparrow,” meaning he would have been ousted from the project months before the publishing of Heard’s op-ed.
“I wasn’t aware of that, but it doesn’t surprise me,” Depp testified. “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.”
Depp also said during his testimony that if given the opportunity to return to Pirates of the Caribbean, he’d turn it down. “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?” Rottenborn asked
“That is true, Mr. Rottenborn,” Depp replied.
Depp and Heard have been locked in legal battles for several years after Heard divorced Depp and then obtained a temporary restraining order against him in May 2016. In 2018, Heard wrote the previously mentioned op-ed in The Washington Post and the relationship between Depp and Heard came under even more scrutiny after Depp filed a libel lawsuit against British tabloid The Sun after the publication referred to Depp as a “wife-beater” in a 2018 article. Depp lost both the initial lawsuit as well as the appeal. The current legal proceeding is taking place in Virginia and is being broadcast on Court TV.
“Court cases that are as high-profile as this one often create a lot of noise, and it can be difficult for viewers to break through these distractions to have a clear picture of the facts, but that’s where we come in,” Ethan Nelson, Acting Head of Court TV, said in a statement. “Between the camera feed directly from the courtroom and our first-class lineup of talent, Court TV will be the true source of an unbiased, down-the-middle perspective of the trial as it unfolds.”
h/t: Variety
