It has come to light that new charges have been made in the defamation action that Amber Heard and Johnny Depp brought against Jason Momoa for his alleged conduct on the set of Aquaman.
According to court records that were made public a month ago and were acquired by Variety, Heard, 37, allegedly characterized her costar as “drunk” and “late on set” in notes taken by clinical and forensic psychologist Dr. Dawn Hughes, who was brought on by Heard’s legal team to testify. Hughes was called on by Heard’s legal team to testify.
Hughes’ notes add further that Heard said that Momoa, 44, showed up on the set of the DC Studios superhero picture “dressing like” her ex-boyfriend Johnny Depp by wearing “all the rings.” Hughes’ notes further suggest that Momoa came on the set of the film.
DC Studios sent the following statement to PEOPLE: “Jason Momoa handled himself in a professional way at all times while filming Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. The movie will finally be released to the public in December, and we can’t wait!
The defamation trial that took place in Virginia in 2018 was initiated after Depp, who is now 60 years old, sued his ex-wife for defamation over an opinion piece that she authored in 2018 that contained charges of violence. After the actor from “Pirates of the Caribbean” won three claims and Heard won one of her three counterclaims, they reached a settlement in which he was awarded $1 million from Heard.
In the course of their drawn-out court battle, Heard testified that her part as Mera in the forthcoming film Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom had been “very pared down” as a result of the public attention that had been focused on her personal life. Last month, the director of the series, James Wan, said that there was never an intention for her character to have a significant role in the sequel.
“I fought really hard to stay in the movie,” Heard stated during her testimony. “They decided not to include me in the movie in the end.”
“I was given a script, and then given new versions of the script that had taken away scenes,” she said. “I was given a script.” They essentially eliminated a significant portion of my responsibilities. They just took a few of them out.”
In court, Walter Hamada, who was the president of DC Films at Warner Bros. at the time, testified that there were conversations among producers about a “lack of chemistry” between Heard and Momoa, and that her defamation trial had no influence on the extent of her part in the franchise’s second chapter. Hamada also said that there were discussions among producers about a “lack of chemistry” between Heard and Momoa. “The character’s involvement in the story was what it was from the beginning,” he remarked in reference to Mera.
After that, Heard’s talent representative Jessica Kovacevic testified that she felt the attention the actress got during her broadcast trial opposite Depp had severely harmed her career. Kovacevic stated that she believed the attention the actress received during the trial was due to Depp.
According to Variety, the newly discovered court filings contain notes from Hughes in which he indicates that Heard told him that Momoa “said he wanted me fired” from the sequel.
According to the notes, Heard said that there was conflict between her and Wan on the set of Lost Kingdom, which was shot in the late year 2021: “He yelled at me, saying, ‘I can’t even post about Aquaman.’ He made it seem like it was my fault, and I apologized,” she claimed. “I’m sorry.”
Variety also alleges that Heard’s ex-boyfriend Elon Musk issued a “scorched-earth letter” to Warner Bros. through litigators, threatening to “burn the house down” if Heard was removed from the sequel.
PEOPLE’s inquiries for comment were not immediately met with a response from representatives of Musk.
Next, Heard may be seen in the movie “In the Fire,” which hits cinemas on October 13th. The director of the movie, Conor Allyn, recently told PEOPLE that the actress is now “living her best life in Spain with her daughter and just finding happiness in that way.”
After the defamation trial was over, Heard took her daughter Oonagh Paige, who was then two years old, and emigrated from the United States to Spain. During the trial, Heard had received death threats. A source had previously shared with PEOPLE that “she simply needed to leave the United States.” “There appeared to be an excessive amount of chaos.”