UPDATED 12:59 PM: Johnny Depp has lost any chance of remaining in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise following allegations of domestic violence by the actor’s former CAA agent, Amber Heard, testifying at the $50 million defamation trial today.
“I think it was related to the allegations that Amber made,” Christian Carino said in a pre-recorded video testimony Wednesday in the Virginia courtroom. The CAA agent admitted he hadn’t spoken to anyone at pirate distributor Disney, except for EP Jerry Bruckheimer, and said he based his opinion on “conversations with colleagues and studio execs…internal and external.”
“It’s something in the industry that is understood,” Carino said of Depp’s loss of the lucrative Pirates gig due to long-simmering abuse allegations. Under cross-examination, Heard’s attorney, Elaine Bredehoft, clarified that Pirates EP Bruckheimer never told Carino that Depp wasn’t asked back into the franchise over the actress’ abuse allegations — a point Carino complied with.
Depp’s stint in the 2017 pirate sequel Dead Men Tell No Tales was fraught with well-documented issues on the Australia set. Carino said today that Depp is often “late” but added: “He’s been late for everything his whole life. Everyone’s learned how to make a movie, how to handle it.” He didn’t say much about other issues and delays, including when Depp severed part of one of his fingers and production was halted for a while.
Following the March 2019 lawsuit against his ex-wife that Depp filed against his ex-wife based on a Washington Post op-ed she wrote as a victim of domestic violence, the man who owned Capt. Having portrayed Jack Sparrow in five films, Heard insisted that direct and implied allegations “destroyed” his career. Part of that destruction was that he lost a potential role in Pirates 6, which was yet to be made.
Since the beginning of the five-week process on April 11 and before the filings, both sides have disputed that argument. In many ways, it’s come down to a matter of deadlines, with Heard’s defense team providing evidence that Depp wasn’t welcome back into the Pirates franchise even before the comment was made — a comment that never mentioned Depp by name.
Accordingly, at the booth at the Fairfax County Courthouse last week, Depp admitted that he doesn’t want to return to the Pirates franchise even if Disney offered him “$300 million” and up. In the video playing today, Depp’s lawyers showed an article published just days after the op-ed printed, in which Carino had received an email from Depp’s then-PR team, citing that he was suddenly losing the opportunity to be part of Pirates 6.
In his testimony today as a witness for Depp, Carino said those internal chats he was previously referring to were with the likes of agency bigwig Bryan Lourd and the late Jack Whigham.
Depp left his longtime agency UTA and signed with CAA shortly after his marriage to Heard ended in 2016. In the first video deposition in January 2021, Carino appeared in a mirrored room wearing a hat and t-shirt, a tousled, chic look not uncommon in the industry but less so when testifying at a Virginia trial. The agent hardly seemed pleased to be there — at one point he looked away as Heard’s attorney pressed him with questions.
Along with the jury, Judge Penny Azcarate, the attorneys and others, Depp and Heard were both in court today viewing the Carino video and other witnesses.
In a second video statement dated March 11, 2022, which was questioned by Depp’s team, Carino was hatless and sat in a much more conservative setting with a pop art piece in the background. Carino actually repeated Heard before Depp and repeated both for a short time. CAA and Depp split in 2020 after the actor followed Whigham to newly formed management company Range Media Partners
Today, in his pre-recorded statement, Carino said his friendship with Depp ended when the former Oscar nominee left CAA. Noting that he’s remained close to both Rum Diary stars throughout their rocky and restraining order-defined divorce, the agent said he stopped being friends with the now WME-represented Aquaman actress when “the legal battle began.” .
In recent years, Depp has been involved in a number of other legal actions, including suing his ex-CEOs, his former attorney Jacob Bloom, and being accused of punching a crew member on the set of City of Lies. The first two cases were resolved, one in a confidential settlement and the other in a loss to Bloom. The latter case is still in the courts in LA.
Carino’s testimony is expected to end today. The court will meet tomorrow but closed on Friday, as it has done since the beginning of this month.
SO FAR, 11:41 AM: Two Los Angeles Police Department officers on Wednesday testified what they saw while responding to separate 911 calls to get to the downtown penthouse on May 21, 2016, the night Amber Heard alleges Johnny Depp hit her in a confrontation about her marriage in the last few days.
The Fairfax, VA jury was shown the bodycam footage of Officer William Gatlin, who was among the officers who responded to the Eastern Columbia building later that evening. Gatlin said he observed “no demonstrable injuries on her.” But Heard’s attorney asked him how he made that decision given the low lighting in the penthouse. She also asked him why he didn’t ask Heard to come up front so he could examine her more closely.
#Bodycam Footage shows officers responding #Johnny Depp and #AmberHeard‘s penthouse after a second domestic violence call was made in May 2016. @LawCrimeNetwork pic.twitter.com/Iq0ZwCoIKf
— Law&Crime Network (@LawCrimeNetwork) April 27, 2022
Two officers had responded to an emergency call earlier in the evening but left without filing a report. Heard’s attorneys have pressured officers as to why they didn’t file a report and whether they followed due process. Instead, they left a business card and wrote “Struck by victim – Verbally advising victim” in their log entry.
“After discussing the investigation with my partner at the scene, Miss Heard refused medical attention and had no visible injuries,” said Officer Tyler Hadden, one of the two police officers who first responded to the 9/11 domestic violence call reacted.
“There was no sign of struggle … and the witness I spoke to was uncooperative either.”
Bredehoft pressed Gatlin on how confident he could be that he hadn’t seen Heard with injuries. He said that Heard was “crying and had a red face.” However, Bredehoft tried to show that he had not discovered damage in the building, a stain in the hallway.
Later that morning, Depp appeared smiling and amused as Alejandro Romero, who was standing at the reception desk of the Eastern Columbia building, gave testimony. Romero, who showed up in his vehicle, said after seeing Heard after the May 21 incident, “He didn’t remember [seeing] Stains or bruises.” But Bredehoft repeatedly asked him about other aspects of her appearance, like whether she wore makeup or what she wore, and he repeatedly admitted he couldn’t remember. At one point, Romero admitted, “I don’t want to deal with this court case, everyone’s got issues — I don’t want to deal with it anymore.
On Wednesday afternoon, the jury will see a January 19, 2021 statement from Christian Carino, the former CAA agent for Depp and Heard.