Amber Heard has clapped back at critics petitioning to have her removed from "Aquaman 2." The actress has been facing heat since Britain's High Court ruled against her ex, Johnny Depp, in his libel case over allegations that he was a "wife-beater." Depp has insisted that Heard was abusive towards him and his claims have sparked a #JusticeForJohnnyDepp social media campaign and a Change.org petition calling to have Heard cut from the sequel of "Aquaman."
"As Amber Heard is a known and proven domestic abuser, Warner Brothers and DC Entertainment should and must remove Heard from their Aquaman 2 film project," the petition reads. "They must not ignore the suffering of Heard's victims, and must not glamorize a domestic abuser.”
Note: No court has ever convicted Heard of abuse.
As of Friday, over 1,184,964 people have signed the petition but Heard is not bothered by the backlash.
"Paid rumors and paid campaigns on social media don't dictate [casting decisions] because they have no basis in reality," the star told Entertainment Weekly on Thursday. "Only the fans actually made 'Aquaman' and 'Aquaman 2' happen. I'm excited to get started next year."
Although "Aquaman 2" has not yet been given the green light, rumors have emerged that it will likely go ahead given the success of the original film, which featured Heard playing the character Mera alongside Jason Momoa, who was cast as Aquaman. Heard was confident there will be a sequel.
"I'm super excited about the amount of fan love and the amount of fan appreciation that Aquaman has acquired and that it has garnered so much excitement for Aquaman and Mera that it means we'll be coming back," she said. "I'm so excited to film that."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.