In case you’ve been living under a rock for the last week or so, the never-ending saga between warring ex-spouses Johnny Depp and Amber Heard has taken on a new dimension after the former was forced to step down from his role as Grindelwald in the Fantastic Beasts franchise, which was due to coming out on the losing end of a libel case against a British tabloid that ran a headline calling him a wife beater.
Fans instantly rushed to the defense of the former Pirates of the Caribbean star, blasting Warner Bros. for their decision to drop Depp from one of their highest profile properties while Heard remains gainfully employed by the same studio and is set to return for James Wan’s superhero sequel Aquaman 2 when shooting starts next year.
As well as calling out the double standard for axing Depp but not Heard, the petition to have the 34 year-old actress fired has gained some serious momentum over the last few days. It was only on Wednesday that we reported the campaign has amassed over 850,000 signatures, and now the plea has cracked the one million barrier and is well on its way to 1.5 million.
Indeed, the backlash towards Heard has gotten so intense that over 150,000 new people have lent their support to the idea of having her fired from Aquaman 2 in less than 48 hours, which just goes to show how firmly the public appear to have sided with Johnny Depp. The actress recently batted away any suggestions that her role as Mera was in jeopardy, but the higher ups at Warner Bros. must be keenly aware of the discontent surrounding her continued involvement in a project that they’ll be hoping can at least match the billion dollar haul of the first installment when it hits theaters in December 2022.