The court battle between Amber Heard and Johnny Depp has gotten uglier and uglier over the course of the last few months. And it seems to be only getting worse, now that Depp claims the Aquaman actress used crude photos to blackmail him.
The Pirates of the Caribbean star filed a $50 million defamation lawsuit against his ex-wife earlier this year, claiming that an op-ed she wrote in The Washington Post detailing Depp’s alleged sexual abuse was “part of an elaborate hoax” to advance her career, and taint his. As the case has progressed, The Blast revealed that Heard’s lawyers unveiled photos of Depp allegedly smoking drugs out of a glass pipe, along with other pictures showing “alleged illegal drugs and paraphernalia located inside [his] home.”
However, Johnny Depp’s team has shot back, saying that these incriminating pictures were part of a blackmail scheme: if Depp and his lawyers didn’t stand down, Heard would present the photos to the judge. They refused, and now, obviously, the pics have been presented.
This is just the latest in a string of back-and-forths between the two Hollywood stars. And while the battle continues to heat up, with seemingly no foreseeable end, it’s certainly had an effect on their careers, especially Depp’s.
Not long after Heard’s op-ed was published, Depp lost one of his career-defining roles in Captain Jack Sparrow, whom he’s portrayed in five films over a span of 14 years. Now, with so much controversy surrounding the actor, Warner Bros. is reportedly second-guessing his involvement in their Harry Potter spinoff series, Fantastic Beasts.
But no matter how many high-points the actor has had on the big screen, it’s safe to say that no one knows what the future holds for Johnny Depp.