Photo: EW
It’s been a tough few weeks for Amber Heard. The actress’s agent testified in court on Thursday, claiming that Warner Bros. is recasting her role because she lacks chemistry with Jason Momoa – who plays Aquaman in the film with the same title.
In a pre-recorded statement, Jessica Kovacevic discussed Heard’s career before and after her breakup with ex-husband Johnny Depp. She expressed that she believed Warner Bros intended to replace Heard as Mera because of bad press surrounding the separation.
However, Kovacevic testified that the entertainment giant pointed out the lack of chemistry with Momoa, which was their reason for the decision to replace her in the role.
Warner Bros. declined to comment on the matter.
Despite the entertainment giant not directly pinpointing her breakup with Depp as grounds behind her possible recasting, Kovacevic said that in her opinion, they didn’t “want to hire someone who had bad press,” further stating, “No one wants that association.”
Heard said that she had to “fight really hard” to remain employed – referring to her roles in 2017’s Justice League and the first Aquaman installment – during this period after being targeted by Depp’s “smearing campaign.”
The actress testified that she was the victim of an organized campaign in which Depp’s “sophisticated PR machine” labeled her a liar, leading to lost acting jobs and sponsorships.
“I had to fight really hard to keep my career after I got my [restraining order against Depp],” Heard testified. “I lost opportunities. I got dropped from jobs and campaigns. I fought to keep my job and the biggest movie opportunity I had to date [with] Justice League with option to [star in] Aquaman. I had to fight really hard to stay in Justice League because that was the time of the divorce.”
Heard said that Warner Bros. “didn’t want to include me” in Aquaman 2. When queried whether she was “actively scheduling timing for filming” for Aquaman 2 prior to Depp’s supposed smear campaign, Heard said yes.
When asked about her involvement following Depp’s team calling her a liar in the press, she said no, “the communications stopped at that point.”
Heard further stated, “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 spoiler aways, two characters fighting with one another, and they basically took a bunch out of my role. They just removed a bunch out.”
While the actress’s $2 million contract still exists, she only has 10 minutes of screen time.
When queried whether she has been able to look for work lately, Heard stated, “I have done small independent films. I shot a film in Guatemala. It’s a small independent, meaning it doesn’t have distribution or anything; it’s a lower budget film that I had been attached to for many years called Into the Fire.”
She claimed she was paid $65,000 for the part. Considering the blockbuster hit of Aquaman, Kovacevic testified that Heard should have been given more endorsements and job opportunities; however, she was denied that.
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