After Johnny Depp’s name and reputation were cleared both legally and in the court of public opinion following his high-profile $50 million defamation lawsuit against ex-wife Amber Heard, the actor’s fans are now turning their attention to the two movies studios that turned their backs on the embattled entertainer.
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On Wednesdays, June 1, 2022, jurors returned a unanimous decision against his ex-wife while awarding the 58-year-old actor $15 million in damages.
The jury reportedly deliberated for 12 hours over three days. Depp was awarded $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages. However, Virginia state law caps punitive damages at $350,000.
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Meanwhile, the jury also awarded the 36-year-old actress $2 million in damages based on one of her arguments in her $100 million countersuits, finding that Depp’s attorney defamed her when he described her allegation as a “hoax.”
After Depp’s historic win, his fans are now seeking apologies from both Warner Bros. and Disney after the actor was fired from both the Pirates of the Caribbean and Fantastic Beasts franchises, respectively.
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Depp wrote an Instagram post back in the fall of 2020, explaining how Warner Bros based him to resign his role as Gellert Grindelwald in the Fantastic Beast films after the actor lost his libel suit against British tabloid “The Sun,” which called him a “Wife-Beater” in an explosive headline. The tabloid published a paper with the headline: “GONE POTTY: How can JK Rowling be ‘genuinely happy’ casting wife-beater Johnny Depp in the new Fantastic Beasts film?”
Johnny Deep won! 🥂🎉🥳 Disney and Warner Bros must publicly apologize, and put #JohnnyDepp back where he belongs. Everyone knows that no one can play these roles better than him, but he said he will never play as Captain Jack again. I will never forgive Amber and Disney. pic.twitter.com/qu6nMVNQRK
— ❝ᴋʟᴀᴜs ᴍɪᴋᴀᴇʟsᴏɴ ᴀɴᴅ ʜɪs ᴡɪғᴇ ᴄᴀʀᴏʟɪɴᴇ ᴍɪᴋᴀᴇʟsᴏɴ ❞ (@JodiceKlaroline) June 1, 2022
The British court ruled that 12 out of 14 of Heard’s claims were “substantially true.” However, the judge did not question the honesty or validity of Heard’s testimony and took everything she said as the truth.
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Prior, in 2018, Disney revealed that it was not recasting Johnny Depp as Captian Jack Sparrow following the release of Amber Heard’s infamous op-ed article in the Washington Post, in which she called herself a “public figure representing domestic abuse.”
WARNER BROTHERS & DISNEY NEED TO FORMALLY APOLOGIZE TO JOHNNY DEPP#JohnnyDepp #DeppVsHeard #TruthNeverPerishes #CaptainJackSparrow#WarnerBros #DISNEY
— Mariah Bee🏴☠️🌻 (@MariahBloomfie2) June 1, 2022
While Disney never attributed the allegations to why they dropped Depp from the franchise, many believe the timing, which was just days after the article was released, could not have been a coincidence.
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At the time, Sean Bailey, president of the production at Walt Disney Studios, was asked if the franchise could thrive without Johnny Depp, and he said:
“We want to bring in a new energy and vitality. I love the [Pirates] movies, but part of the reason Paul [Wernick] and Rhett [Reese] are so interesting is that we want to give it a kick in the pants. And that’s what I’ve tasked them with.”
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During his testimony, Depp shared how he felt deeply betrayed by Disney.
“Having added much of myself, much of my own rewriting, the dialogue, the scenes, the jokes, I didn’t quite understand how after that long relationship and quite a successful relationship with Disney that… suddenly I was guilty until proven innocent,” Depp told the court.
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Today, fans are demanding apologies from both companies, taking to social media platforms like Twitter to voice their demands.
“@Disney @DisneyStudios so you guys gonna like publicly apologize to Johnny Depp? Maybe tripling his salary to return to #PiratesoftheCaribbean would be a lovely start,” one person tweeted.
Another added: “WARNER BROTHERS & DISNEY NEED TO FORMALLY APOLOGIZE TO JOHNNY DEPP”
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And a third wrote: “@Disney I think you owe Captain Jack Sparrow an apology..and be sure to grovel!”
@Disney @DisneyStudios so you guys gonna like publicly apologise to Johnny Depp? Maybe tripling his salary to return to #PiratesoftheCaribbean would be a lovely start. #DeppvsAmberHeard #DeppHeardTrial #JohnnyDepp #disney
— CherryFlavouredPez (@RoscosModLife) June 1, 2022
“Johnny Deep won,” wrote a fourth. “Disney and Warner Bros must publicly apologize, and put #JohnnyDepp back where he belongs. Everyone knows that no one can play these roles better than him, but he said he will never play as Captain Jack again. I will never forgive Amber and Disney.”
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However, suppose Disney were to reach out and offer Johnny Depp his old role. In that case, it’s unlikely he’d ever return since, during the defamation trial, he famously stated that he would not work with the Mouse House ever again even if they offered him $300 million and a million alpacas.”
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Do you think either Disney or Warner Bros. will ever publically apologize to Johnny Depp? Do you think he’ll ever work with either company in the future?
Disney and Warner Bros should at least apologize to Johnny Depp publicly.
— The Noob Dad (@mitztlom182) June 2, 2022
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Sources:
- “Fans call on Disney and Warner Bros. to publicly apologize to Johnny Depp” Vt.
- “Disney’s Film Prodution Chief Talks ‘Mary Poppins’ and His Big Bet on ‘The Lion King’: “It’s a New Form of Filmmaking” Hollywood Reporter.
- “Opinion Amber Heard: I spoke up against sexual violence — and faced our culture’s wrath. That has to change.” The Washington Post. Amber Heard. December 18, 2018.