Normally, the news about Hollywood marriages, divorces, and other TMZ-esque drama can be relegated to the tabloids for coverage. Most of the time, the facts are suspect, at best, and the story just gives the reader a generally icky feeling. However, in the case of the divorce between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard, the level of anger reportedly transcended the typical he-said, she-said business and actually poured over into actual industry news. And according to new deposition notices in one of Depp’s ongoing legal battles stemming from his divorce, it appears the actor went to extreme lengths to hurt Heard’s career.
In a series of deposition notices sent to a variety of folks by the legal team of Jake Bloom (Depp’s former lawyer that is being sued by the actor because of his advice during the divorce), figures like Elon Musk and former WB head Kevin Tsuijihara (who has had his own fair share of controversy) were requested to testify under oath about their relationship with Depp and the fallout of his nuptials, via THR.
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The interesting part, as film fans, comes from the requested deposition of Tsujihara. As part of his potential interview, the executive will be asked questions about a claim that Johnny Depp actually approached him and asked him to blacklist Heard and pull her out of her starring role in last year’s “Aquaman,” as well as any future projects at the studio.
If true, this would not only look horrible for Depp, and subsequently lend credence Heard’s story about his behavior during that time, but also for Warner Bros. and Tsujihara, specifically. Now, since Heard was seen in “Aquaman,” it’s clear that even if Depp asked, the request was denied, probably because Heard had already appeared in “Justice League” and it wouldn’t make sense to fire her.
However, Heard backs up this claim, saying in her motion to dismiss the $50 million lawsuit against her, “Following my highly-publicized separation from Johnny, … I lost a part for a movie in which I had already been cast.”
Obviously, at this point, we don’t know what film, or what studio, that was regarding. Perhaps, if Tsujihara is deposed, then we might find more answers to the question about how far Depp would go to damage Heard’s career.
And if Tsujihara actually testifies and backs up the “Aquaman” story, it will be very interesting to see how WB proceeds in its relationship with Depp. The studio currently has the actor starring in their big “Fantastic Beasts” cash cow franchise, with his role only growing in the upcoming sequels. Will WB allow Depp to keep going in the ‘Fantastic Beasts’ series, or will the actor find himself the one out of a job?
Depp’s representative, Adam Waldman, responded to news of the deposition notices, saying, “To remind Bloom Hergott, Mr. Depp is suing them for breach of fiduciary duty, unjust enrichment, swiping Mr. Depp’s back end payments, taking over $30 million without a written contract and tax and other legal malpractice. What evidence could Elon Musk and Kevin Tsujihara (the former head of Warner Bros.) possibly possess to do with that? Now Bloom Hergott will have to convince the Court that Elon Musk, Amber Heard and an ex-Studio Chief have relevant information for their defense, versus merely issuing famous subpoenas in a last ditch effort to divert attention and stall their looming day of reckoning.”
Clearly, the legal battles involving the fallout of the Amber Heard/Johnny Depp marriage are far from over. And it’s getting plenty dirty.