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Johnny Depp has opened up on the topic of how he really feels about Disney – and it’s safe to say the Pirates of the Caribbean star’s relationship with the film production company has run aground.
The 58-year-old actor is suing Amber Heard (36) for $50 million (R762 150 000) in damages over a 2018 essay she wrote in The Washington Post about her experiences with domestic abuse.
Johnny was responding to questions from cross examiner Ben Rottenborn when he confirmed that reprising his role as Captain Jack Sparrow in the Disney franchise was out of the question.
Rottenborn asked: “The fact is, Mr Depp, if Disney came to you with $300 million and a million alpacas, nothing on this earth would get you to go back and work with Disney on a Pirates of the Caribbean film? Correct?”
“That is true,” he responded.
Initially, he had said Disney dropped him from the franchise just days after Amber’s story was published.
However, during cross-examination, Rottenborn said that the opinion piece could not have been the reason the actor was dropped by Disney, citing a Daily Mail article which reported that he had been axed some months prior to Amber’s op-ed publication.
But Johnny insisted that he found out he was getting the boot only after it was published. “I wasn’t aware of that [Daily Mail article], but it doesn’t surprise me,” he told the court.
“Two years had gone by of constant worldwide talk about me being this wife-beater. So, I’m sure that Disney was trying to cut ties to be safe. The #MeToo movement was in full swing at that point.”
The actor went on to express disappointment with the fact that, despite dropping him from the lucrative franchise, Disney continued to sell merchandise linked with his character.
“They didn’t remove my character from the rides [at Disney World]. They didn’t stop selling dolls of Captain Jack Sparrow. They didn’t stop selling anything. They just didn’t want there to be something trailing behind me that they’d find.”
Meanwhile, Disney is widely reported to be working on a Pirates of the Caribbean reboot.
Reports suggest the franchise will take on a new direction with Suicide Squad star Margot Robbie rumoured to be playing a leading role.
Sources: IGN, Washington Post, Looper, Daily Mail.
