Johnny Depp Lost $22.5 Million Payday For 6th ‘Pirates Of The Caribbean’ Film

Johnny Depp’s agent has testified that the actor lost a $22.5million deal for the sixth Pirates of the Caribbean film following Amber Heard’s 2018 op-ed. 

According to the talent agent, the fallout from Heard’s piece had a ‘catastrophic’ impact on Depp’s career. 

On Monday, Jack Whigham, Depp’s talent manager from Creative Artists Agency, testified about the damage The Washington Post opinion piece published in December 2018 had on Depp’s Hollywood reputation. 

Whigham revealed that he had “closed a deal” for Depp to star in Pirates of the Caribbean 6 for $22.5 million. He noted that in early 2019 it “became clear [producers at Disney] were going in a different direction” that did not include Depp. As it was announced that Margot Robbie would lead a rebooted entry of the Pirates franchise.

“After the op-ed, it was impossible to get him a studio film, which is what we normally would have been focused on in that time period,” said Whigham.

While Heard’s attorney argued that there was no written proof or contract stating Depp would return for a sixth Pirates film, Whigham confirmed that he’d sometimes done verbal agreements about pricing for a client’s pay in a potential project.

“It would be fair to say I have never seen a document … I have not seen ’22 million’ written down on a page; you’re correct about that,” Whigham admitted.

Depp and Heard have been engaged in a live-streamed legal case since April 11. The actor sued his ex-wife for defamation over an article she wrote for The Washington Post about becoming “a public figure representing domestic abuse.” While Heard did not name Depp in the article, he is suing her for implying he was an abuser seeking $50 million in damages.

The $50million lawsuit was initially filed in 2019 but was delayed due to the pandemic. 

Depp resigned from his role in the Fantastic Beasts franchise in November 2020 after losing his highly publicised U.K. libel lawsuit against British tabloid The Sun for calling him a “wife-beater.”

The court had ruled the outlet’s claims as being “substantially true”, and Heard testified to back up the claims. In March 2021, his attempt to overturn the court’s decision was also overruled.