Warner Bros.’ recently departed chairman Kevin Tsujihara will be asked to testify about any part he had in “blacklisting” Heard at the studio,according to the Hollywood Reporter. Johnny Depp allegedly “personally lobbied” Tsujihara to drop Heard from Aquaman and block her from landing roles in any other Warner Bros. projects.
Depp has also filed another suit against his former representative Jake Bloom, whom Depp claimed gave him poor guidance about his split with Heard. The couple settled their divorce in January 2017.
THR reports that deposition requests “do not offer evidence Tsujihara took action to prevent Heard from securing roles in Warners movies,” describing how it would have been “extremely difficult” to force her out from Aquaman after she debuted as Mera in Justice League. The film had gone into production by April 2016, over a month before Heard’s divorce filing and temporary restraining order against Depp.
THR notes that this lawsuit isn’t connected to the $50 million defamation suit Depp filed against Heard in March in connection to a December 2018 Washington Post piece written by Heard on domestic abuse. “Following my highly-publicized separation from Johnny ... I lost a part for a movie in which I had already been cast,” Heard wrote in the piece, adding, “Questions arose as to whether I would be able to keep my role of Mera in the movies Justice League and Aquaman.”
While the story didn’t single out Depp, it was largely seen as being about the actor due to previous allegations of violence. Depp's lawsuit referred to Heard's claims as nothing more than an “elaborate hoax” and presented evidence that suggested Depp was actually the one who endured physical abuse during the marriage.
Earlier in April, THR reported that Heard requested a Virginia judge to dismiss the defamation lawsuit, arguing that this legal battle should take place in California, if at all. Her filing also asserted that there were “dozens of violent episodes” during the course of their relationship, with Heard declaring that Depp allegedly hit her for the first time about a year into the relationship.
A few days later, Depp's lawyers claimed to have video footage and statements from responding officers that prove he never abused Heard.
