Fans of Johnny Depp are demanding that Disney issue an apology after the actor’s face was used in a light show at Disneyland in Paris, France.
The Pirates of the Caribbean light show took place over the weekend while Mr Depp has been on tour with British musician Jeff Beck following his win in the defamation trial against his ex-wife Amber Heard.
After a clip from the Paris light show went viral online, Mr Depp’s fans shared outrage that Disney would use his likeness as Captain Jack Sparrow after he was dropped from the Pirates franchise following Ms Heard’s claims of domestic abuse.
“Since Johnny Depp won, Disney needs to publicly apologize,” one Twitter user wrote.
“@Disney a public apology would be better,” another person tweeted.
Another account holder wrote, “how you using this man’s name but refuse to apologize to him?”
“This makes me emotional but they have to stop exploiting his image considering how they treated him,” one Instagram user commented.
During the trial, Mr Depp’s lawyers sought to show that his removal from the franchise was directly linked to a Washington Post op-ed Ms Heard wrote about being a survivor of abuse.
A jury handed down the verdict on 1 June in the defamation trial between the former married couple, awarding Mr Depp $8.35m after they determined Ms Heard defamed him in the Post op-ed entitled “I spoke up against sexual violence — and faced our culture’s wrath. That has to change”.
While Ms Heard didn’t name Mr Depp directly, he argued that the implication it referenced their marriage was clear and that he lost movie roles as a result.
Mr Depp’s and Ms Heard’s former talent agent said on the witness stand that he believes Ms Heard’s allegations cost Mr Depp the job of playing Captain Sparrow in the sixth instalment of the Pirates franchise.
“My opinion is that Amber’s accusations would have had the most dramatic impact on his off-screen reputation. I’m not talking about any one specific accusation,” Christian Carino, who began working for Mr Depp in late 2016, said during the trial in April.
One of Ms Heard’s lawyers later asked Mr Carino if Mr Depp has lost any film roles since he started working for the actor.
“I would say yes,” he said. “The next Pirates movie.” He noted that Mr Depp has played Jack Sparrow in five previous films in the franchise and that he thinks he lost the part in the sixth film because of the allegations of abuse levelled by Ms Heard.
He added that he bases this belief on conversations he’s had with people in the film industry. He recalled speaking to Pirates producer Jerry Bruckheimer, and that Disney was having issues with hiring Mr Depp.
Asked by Ms Heard’s lawyers if Mr Bruckheimer had said why Disney had problems with employing Mr Depp, Mr Carino said: “No, not specifically, but it was understood,” adding that he didn’t ask because he didn’t feel the need to.
“Everyone was aware,” he said, adding that he was referring to those involved in making the decision. He clarified that Mr Bruckheimer didn’t say “specifically” that Mr Depp was being dropped from the film because of the allegations.
In his own testimony, Mr Depp said that he felt “betrayed” by the company.
“Having added much of myself, much of my own rewriting, the dialogue, the scenes, the jokes, I didn’t quite understand how after that long relationship and quite a successful relationship with Disney that... suddenly I was guilty until proven innocent,” Mr Depp said.
