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Amber Heard is facing backlash surrounding her involvement in Aquaman 2 and her public statements about the film. Recently, she reportedly experienced a significant loss of followers on social media. The decline in followers appears to be a reaction to an Instagram post where she thanked her fans for supporting her role in the movie.
Amber's gratitude seems to have backfired as she began with over 5.3 million followers, which experienced a drastic drop. According to reports by Not Just Analytics, she lost thousands of followers after her Instagram post on January 4, 2024.
This scenario is reportedly described as part of a larger PR push that is not only failing to improve her public image but exacerbating the situation.
Therefore, it has led to a significant loss of support as evidenced by her plummeting follower count on social media.
"They basically took a bunch out of my role:" Amber Heard on her role in Aquaman 2
On January 4, 2024, Heard took to Instagram to post behind-the-scenes photos from Aquaman 2 and to thank her fans for their support in her return as Mera in the movie, despite the production impediments.
"After all this time, Aquaman 2 made its splash (sorry, it’s too easy) Thank you to all of my fans for the overwhelming support and love in Mera’s AQ return. Thank you so much #aquaman"
Notably, Heard had previously claimed in her 2022 defamation trial involving Johnny Depp that Warner Bros. had minimized her role in the sequel due to the controversy surrounding her divorce from Depp. In the statement, the Aquaman 2 star expressed her frustrations regarding changes made to the script of the film.
According to Heard, she was given a script that included scenes featuring her character engaging in action, specifically depicting a fight between her character and another. However, as time progressed, Heard received new versions of the script where these action scenes were noticeably reduced or removed entirely.
"I was given a script and then given new versions of the script that had taken away scenes that had action in it, that depicted my character and another character, without giving any spoiler away, two characters fighting with one another, and they basically took a bunch out of my role. They just removed a bunch out," Heard said.
"We'll leave it at that:" Aquaman 2 director addresses Heard's role in the sequel
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly on September 13, 2023, James Wan addressed the role of Mera played by Amber Heard in Aquaman 2. Wan clarified that his vision for Aquaman 2 was different from the outset compared to the 2018 film.
In his statement, he emphasized that the first movie centered on the romantic and adventurous journey of Arthur and Mera, however, the sequel was designed to shift the spotlight to the relationship between Arthur and Orm. Wan described this shift in thematic focus as moving from a "romance action-adventure" to a "bromance action-adventure" movie.
"I always pitched this to everyone from the get-go. The first Aquaman was Arthur and Mera's journey. The second movie was always going to be Arthur and Orm. So, the first was a romance action-adventure movie, the second one is a bromance action-adventure movie. We'll leave it at that," Wan said.
Amber Heard's situation underscores the complex interplay between celebrity public statements, fan reactions, and the impact of external controversies on public perception.
