Johnny Depp has admitted that he wouldn’t do a sixth Pirates of the Caribbean movie even if Disney asked. According to Variety, Depp made his comments while being cross-examined during a defamation trial against ex-wife Amber Heard.
Depp is suing Heard for $50 million and accusing his former wife of ruining his career by publishing an op-ed that alluded to allegations of domestic abuse. Depp claims Heard’s piece ruined his career and that Disney dropped him from a sixth Pirates of the Caribbean film after it was published. To win, Depp will have to show that Heard’s piece was what damaged his career and not earlier domestic abuse allegations.
While being questioned by Heard’s lawyer, Ben Rottenborn, Depp told the court that he would turn down the opportunity to make another adventure movie with Disney. 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?” To which Depp replied, “That is true, Mr Rottenborn.”
Rottenborn also illustrated that Disney was reluctant to work with Depp by using a 2018 Daily Mail article that alleged Depp was “out as Jack Sparrow.”
“I wasn’t aware of that, but it doesn’t surprise me,” Depp admitted. “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.”
Despite this, Depp testified that Disney was happy to make money off his character, who’s still featured at theme parks worldwide. “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.”
Heard first accused Depp of domestic violence in 2016 when she filed for a restraining order. When the couple divorced, these specific claims were resolved, and the pair issued a joint statement that included the line “neither party has made false accusations for financial gain.”
The trial is expected to last for several more weeks.