In the wake of Johnny Depp losing the libel suit against the British tabloid The Sun for describing him as a “wife-beater,” a petition demanding that his ex-wife Amber Heard be removed from “Aquaman 2” has now surpassed one million signatures.
Though Heard has long alleged that Johnny Depp abused and beat her on several occasions throughout their marriage, the “Pirates of the Caribbean” actor has not only maintained his innocence but has alleged he was the one who suffered abuse. The Change.org petition, launched by Jeanne Larson, supports Depp’s side of the story and argued that since Depp had to exit the “Fantastic Beast” franchise, Heard should have to exit “Aquaman.”
“Amber Heard has been exposed as a domestic abuser by Johnny Depp. In his $50 million lawsuit, Johnny Depp describes many incidents of domestic abuse that he suffered at the hands of his (then) wife Amber Heard, including one incident where she punched him twice in the face and another where she shattered his finger with a vodka bottle, and his finger had to be surgically reattached. He will bear the scar from that for the rest of his life,” the petition states.
“Since Heard’s divorce from Johnny Depp, she has systematically crusaded to ruin Depp in Hollywood, repeating multiple accounts of fake incidents in which she had actually abused Johnny Depp, but lied and created false accounts of him being the abuser,” it continues. “About the incident during which she shattered the bones in Johnny Depp’s finger and nearly severed it, causing Depp to require surgery to reattach and repair it, Heard presented a false story claiming that he cut off his finger himself, dipped it in paint and scrawled obscenities all over the walls.”
Earlier this year, the hashtag #JusticeForJohnnyDepp began trending on Twitter when leaked audio recordings featured Heard admitting to hitting Johnny Depp on tape while abusively taunting him.
“I’m sorry that I didn’t, uh, uh, hit you across the face in a proper slap, but I was hitting you, it was not punching you. Babe, you’re not punched,” Heard told Depp in the audio. “I don’t know what the motion of my actual hand was, but you’re fine. I did not hurt you. I did not punch you. I was hitting you.”
As Depp protested this treatment, arguing that her hits indeed amounted to a violent punch, Heard began to taunt him. “You are such a baby. Grow the f**k up, Johnny,” she said. “You poke an animal enough, it is eventually, it doesn’t matter how friendly it is, it’s not cool.”
“I left last night. Honestly, I swear to you because I just couldn’t take the idea of more physicality, more physical abuse on each other,” Depp responded. “Because had we continued it, it would have gotten f**king bad. And baby, I told you this once. I’m scared to death we are a f**king crime scene right now.”
Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Heard dismissed the petition as little more than an internet troll.
“Paid rumors and paid campaigns on social media don’t dictate [casting decisions] because they have no basis in reality,” the actress said. “Only the fans actually made ‘Aquaman’ and ‘Aquaman 2’ happen. I’m excited to get started next year.”
“I’m super excited about the amount of fan love and the amount of fan appreciation that ‘Aquaman’ has acquired and that it has garnered so much excitement for Aquaman and Mera that it means we’ll be coming back,” added. “I’m so excited to film that.”
An “Aquaman” sequel has not yet been greenlit but is expected to happen given the original’s success.
RELATED: LISTEN: Actress Amber Heard Admits To Hitting Johnny Depp In Shocking Audio