Amber Heard has lost up to $50 million due to abuse 'hoax' claims, industry expert testifies

• Entertainment industry expert Kathryn Arnold took the stand on Monday at the Depp v. Heard trial.
• She testified that Heard may have lost up to $50 million in earnings due to "hoax" abuse claims.

At the defamation trial between Amber Heard and her ex-husband Johnny Depp on Monday, entertainment industry expert Kathryn Arnold testified that Heard may have lost up to $50 million in TV, movie, and endorsement deals over claims that the actress faked domestic-abuse allegations against Depp.

"At a minimum of five years of losses, if you look at the film, the television, and endorsement contracts it's very likely that Ms. Heard should have earned $45 million to $50 million over that time period," said Arnold, an award-winning producer with over 20 years experience in the industry.

Heard's lawyers are seeking to prove that she has gone through a career setback after Depp's former lawyer, Adam Waldman, accused her of perpetrating an abuse "hoax" in 2020.

Arnold testified that Heard could not find work in major studio projects despite starring as the female lead in the 2018 movie "Aquaman," which was one of the biggest box-office hits of that year with earnings of over $1 billion.

"In the industry, they like her work," Arnold said. "But they can't work with her right now."

Heard said in earlier testimony she earned $1 million for her role as Mera, the love interest of Jason Momoa's Aquaman, and $2 million for the sequel, "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom," which is to be released in March 2023.

Arnold also testified that Momoa and "Aquaman" franchise director James Wan were "adamant" that Heard be in the sequel.

The first draft for the sequel gave Heard's Mera character a "strong romantic arc" and "some great action sequences," according to Arnold.

However, the role was "radically reduced from what it was in the script and what she even trained for while she was preparing for the movie," Arnold said.

Earlier in the trial, Heard testified that she had to fight "really hard to stay in the movie."

"They didn't want to include me in the film," Heard said.

As Insider previously reported, Depp filed a defamation suit against Heard in response to an op-ed she wrote for The Washington Post that detailed her experience with domestic violence. Depp's name wasn't mentioned, but the article was widely interpreted as being about him.

According to Depp's $50 million lawsuit, Heard fabricated an incident where she accused Depp of beating her and had, in fact, verbally and physically assaulted him on numerous occasions.

Heard denied the claims and countersued for $100 million, alleging Depp physically beat her numerous times in their relationship, often while intoxicated on drugs and alcohol.