Amber Heard only kept her role in Aquaman 2 because Jason Momoa fought for her to stay, a witness has claimed.
For those who haven't been following the trial, Johnny Depp, 58, is suing ex-wife Heard, 35, in a $50 million (£38.2 million) defamation lawsuit over abuse claims she made in a 2018 article in The Washington Post, despite not directly naming her ex-husband.
As the trial reaches its final week, former Hollywood film producer Kathryn Arnold - who is now an entertainment industry consultant and expert - took to the stand to testify as Heard’s witness.
An entertainment consultant called by #AmberHeard's legal team said that the movie "Aquaman" was Amber Heard's "star is born" moment.
— Law&Crime Network (@LawCrimeNetwork) May 23, 2022
"She was on the poster with the very handsome Jason Momoa....it was just this very extraordinary moment for her career to take off," she said. pic.twitter.com/ePwrk7HpEV
During her testimony on Monday (23 May), Arnold claimed that the only reason Heard kept her role was due to Momoa, who, of course, plays the Aquaman character, along with the movie’s director James Wan, who was said to be ‘committed to her’ while being ‘adamant she was in the film’.
Arnold went as far as to say that the role should have been her ‘a star is born moment’.
She told Jurors that Heard's featured character, Mera, was said to have 'strong romantic arc the entire film and some great action sequences' in the first draft of the Aquaman sequel.
"It was that moment where not only was she a good actor, but she was now world-renowned because she was in the most successful film … for DC Comics,” Arnold said.
"It was just this extraordinary moment for her, for her career to take off."
However, she alleges that due to a the negative publicity amid a petition to remove Heard from Aquaman 2 - which was launched in light of Depp’s lawsuit and has since reached over 4.3 million signatures - when the actor arrived on set for the shoot, a costume designer reportedly informed Heard that her appearance had been ‘diminished’.
She was reportedly told that her action sequence had been ‘cut out’ and that her role was ‘radically reduced’.
The entertainment consultant went on to tell the court in Fairfax, Virginia, that the actor lost up to $50 million (AUD$ 39 million/£39 million) in potential earnings following claims that she had made up the allegations of domestic abuse.
If that had not happened, Heard's career might be on par with Gal Gadot or Zendaya, Arnold added.
She also projected that Heard would have received four other endorsement deals as well as multiple film and TV projects.
"Every time she appears anywhere, the social media negativity campaign starts up again."
British supermodel Kate Moss, who dated Depp in the 1990s, is also expected to appear in court by video link later this week to give evidence.
Closing arguments in the case are are to be given on Friday, 27 May, although this date could change.
