According to a Variety report published Tuesday on behind-the-scenes drama surrounding “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom,” Amber Heard accused Mamoa of showing up drunk on the set of the upcoming sequel, dressing like her ex-husband Johnny Depp and demanding she be fired.
The report is based on notes from Heard’s therapist that were part of a defamation trial between Depp and Heard.
“Jason said he wanted me fired,” the notes read, according to Variety. “Jason drunk — late on set. Dressing like Johnny. He has all the rings too.”
The notes were reportedly written by therapist Dr. Dawn Hughes but ruled inadmissible in Heard’s trial against Depp. He sued her for defamation in 2019 after she referred to herself as a “public figure representing domestic abuse” in a 2018 op-ed.
Heard told NBC’s “Dateline” after losing the case in 2022 that she wished “a binder worth of years of notes dating back to 2011” had been allowed into evidence. Fans of Depp ultimately crowdfunded the court fees to obtain her therapy notes and then released them, according to Variety.
The new report comes mere months before the $215 million “Aquaman” sequel hits theaters.
HuffPost has reached out to representatives for Mamoa and Heard for comment. Both actors declined to comment to Variety.
A spokesperson for DC Films and an anonymous source, however, pushed back on the claims to the outlet.
“Jason Momoa conducted himself in a professional manner at all times on the set of ‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom,’” the DC Fims spokesperson told Variety.
“Jason works his ass off, likes to have a beer once in a while like everyone, but doesn’t show up drunk to set,” Variety quotes an insider as saying. “And he isn’t dressing like Johnny Depp. He has always dressed in that bohemian style.”
Heard (right) reportedly told her therapist that Momoa (left) tried to have her fired.
Left: Jordan Strauss/Invision/Associated Press; Right: Elizabeth Franz/Pool Photos/Associated Press
The notes also included comments about franchise director James Wan, whom Heard accused of bullying behavior.
“He raised his voice @ me — ‘I can’t even post about Aquaman’ — made it like it was my fault — I said ‘I’m sorry,’” the therapy documents say in reference to Wan. “Nobody could take selfies with me on set given blackout.”
The DC spokesperson told Variety that Wan treats his cast “with the utmost respect.”
Heard was nearly fired from the sequel in 2018, although executives denied in court that it was related to her public dispute with Depp and said it was due in part to a noticeable lack of chemistry with Momoa.
Variety reported that “Aquaman” executives informed Heard via a letter to her lawyer of the plans to drop her from the sequel prior to Depp’s lawsuit and the ensuing media attention.
Elon Musk, who dated Heard from 2017 to 2018, reportedly saved Heard from being recast. A source close to this battle behind the scenes told Variety that the billionaire sent a “scorched-earth letter to Warner Bros. threatening to burn the house down” if Heard wasn’t brought back for “Aquaman 2.”
The first film reportedly grossed $1.15 billion at the worldwide box office and unexpectedly became the highest-grossing DC movie of all time, beating out standalone films about far more popular characters at the time — including Batman and Superman.
It remains to be seen whether a sequel can reclaim that magic after reported reshoots and low test scores plaguing production, as well as this behind-the-scenes controversy surrounding Heard and Momoa.
