In court, actor Johnny Depp testified that no amount of money from Disney could persuade him to reprise his renowned role as Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. Depp made the statement during cross-examination in his defamation case against his ex-wife Amber Heard, whom he is now suing for $50 million.
“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?” Amber Heard’s attorney Ben Rottenborn asked Depp during the proceedings.
“That is true, Mr. Rottenborn,” Depp replied.
Depp is suing his ex-wife Amber Heard for defamation after she wrote an op-ed in the Washington Post in 2018 detailing the alleged violence she endured. Despite the fact that she never names Depp by name, the actor feels the piece has harmed his career and has lost him the part of Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean 6.
“I would be a real simpleton to not think that there was an effect on my career based on Ms. Heard’s words, whether they mentioned my name or not,” Depp said, adding that he believes his career was “done” from “the second the allegations were made against me.”
“Once that happened, I lost then,” the actor continued. “No matter the outcome of this trial, I’ll carry that for the rest of my days… I’m suing her over defamation and the various falsities that she used to bring my life to an end.”
Depp explained in his testimony that, despite Disney keeping the image of Jack Sparrow in all avenues of the franchise, he himself was cut off. “They didn’t remove my character from the rides,” he said. “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.”
Johnny Depp and Amber Heard have been locked in legal battles for some time, and the situation is not expected to be resolved any time soon. The case continues.