#JusticeForJohnnyDepp trends, fans want Amber Heard gone from 'Aquaman 2'
Fans of veteran actor Johnny Depp rose in unison against his ex-wife actress Amber Heard's continued participation in the superhero Aquaman franchise. The attack regained momentum recently after director James Wan shared an image to announce the beginning of Aquaman 2 shoot. Following Depp's forced departure from the Fantastic Beasts series, fans are now demanding that Warner Bros. fire Heard from Aquaman too.
Wan's post about starting the sequel's shoot sparked the movement
So what did Wan post? On Monday, the director shared an image of the clapperboard marking the first take for the upcoming DCEU movie, which had the working title Necrus written on it. The post was soon met with disapproving comments for Heard, who plays Mera in the Jason Momoa-led series. Netizens then took this disapproval to Twitter with over 10K tweets under #JusticeForJohnnyDepp.
This post reignited the flames; #Amber, #JusticeForJohnnyDepp began trending
Warner Bros. targeted for cutting off Depp but keeping Heard
Netizens were seemingly angry with Warner Bros. studio, for requesting Depp to resign as Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts, but retaining Heard. One tweet read, "So @wbpictures is still going to put Amber Heard in Aquaman 2, when her less than stellar acting skills could be replaced by anyone in Hollywood???" Heard was labeled as an "abuser," while Depp was called "innocent" by his fans.
Such posts and memes have filled Twitter
But can Warner Bros. fire Heard because of online hatred?
To note, there are no criminal cases lodged against the London Fields actress, so Warner Bros. has no ground to sack her. On the other hand, Depp was asked to step down, not sacked, only when he lost the libel lawsuit against The Sun.
Heard had earlier clarified she wasn't affected by online trolling
Twitterati continued to call Heard a "compulsive liar" and "serial abuser," and accused her of "mocking all victims of domestic violence." Notably, a Change.org petition seeking Warner Bros. to sack Heard was started last year following Depp's departure from the Harry Potter spin-off series. The actress, however, remained poised and dignified throughout the ordeal, and said such online campaigns do not affect her.
Court had found 'The Sun' allegations to be 'substantially true'
"Paid rumors and paid campaigns on social media don't dictate [casting decisions] because they have no basis in reality," the actress had said earlier. In November 2020, a London High Court found allegations made by The Sun (including calling him a "wife-beater") against The Tourist actor to be "substantially true." Depp then challenged the verdict and approached the UK Court of Appeal in December.
This is the update in Depp's court journey
In a blow to Depp, the Court of Appeal judges denied his application in March. It said the original hearing "was full and fair." While Depp's lawyer argued they didn't get a "fair trial," Heard's representative said they were "pleased" but "not surprised."
