Why is Jason Momoa under fire over Amber Heard? Allegations explored as leaked therapist notes spark backlash

Actor Jason Momoa of Aquaman fame reportedly almost got Amber Heard fired from the role of Mera in the sequel to the film Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, which is set for a pre-Christmas (December 20) release this year. On Thursday, September 14, Warner Bros. Studio launched the trailer for the DC movie, in which Heard barely appears.

So far, Amber Heard has played the role of Mera, the love interest of Aquaman, played by Jason Momoa, since 2017’s Justice League. The trailer has been panned for being confusing and inconsistent since it tells us that Aquaman is married and has a son but fails to show us any glimpse of his wife, who should have been played by Amber Heard.

Since the release of the trailer for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, there have been speculations online that Amber Heard’s role was cut from the film and that Jason Momoa was responsible for it.

The speculations have been further fuelled by leaked therapist notes of Amber Heard that state how the entire team was against her, especially the director James Wan, who allegedly told her not to "post" about the film, while Jason Momoa reportedly tried to get her entirely removed.

A netizen shares the leaked therapy notes of Amber Heard. (Image via X/walkerswillownte)

---

“What a bitter man”: Jason Momoa comes under fire for allegedly getting Amber Heard fired from the “Aquaman” sequel

On Thursday, Warner Bros. Studio and DC released the official trailer for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, and Amber Heard’s role as Mera was almost missing, appearing once or twice for less than a second. This confirmed Amber Heard's prior claim that both the lead actor, Jason Momoa, and the director, James Wan, intended to fire her from the film.

In fact, in May 2022, during her defamation trial with her ex-husband Johnny Depp, Amber Heard said that her role in the Aquaman sequel was a "pared-down version." Not only that, but she also mentioned how hard she fought to stay in the movie because "they didn’t want to include me in the film." She further added:

"I was given a script and then given new versions of the script that had taken away scenes that had action in it…They basically took a bunch out of my role. They just removed a bunch out."

Now, in the wake of the trailer release, therapy notes of Amber Heard have been leaked online that further prove her allegations. It reveals that director James Wan allegedly raised his voice at her and asked her not to post anything about Aquaman, while also making it seem that her personal life affected the film’s reputation.

“Then Jason said he wanted to fire me as well,” read the therapy notes.

As per the notes, only producer Zack Snyder and his wife Deborah Synder stood by her, while she received "cut-down notes" with "changed content." Not only that but Jason Momoa also allegedly harassed Amber by coming to the set drunk and dressed as Johnny Depp. They also reportedly didn't allow her to take selfies with anyone on the set and put her on a "blackout."

“This is all I will work on until the case is a distant memory,” the notes revealed a direct quote from Heard.

Since the release of the trailer followed by the leaked therapy notes, fans of Amber Heard have called out Jason Momoa and the team for attempting to exclude her from the film and mixing her personal and professional lives.

Meanwhile, in the latest interview with Entertainment Weekly, James Wan defended Amber Heard’s absence in the sequel by saying that Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom revolved around the strained relationship between Aquaman or Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa) and his brother Orm (played by Patrick Wilson).

“The first was a romance action-adventure movie, the second one is a bromance action-adventure movie. We'll leave it at that.”

As per the Insider, the film’s official synopsis confirmed that Mera was the Queen of Atlantis, the wife of Aquaman, and the mother of the heir to the throne. However, the trailer makes no note of this and instead hints that Aquaman was raising his son as a single parent, with a passing scene showing a woman resembling Heard’s Mera, but it remains unclear.

Amidst all these speculations, people have also been wondering if the character of Mera would be killed off at the end of the film, as the trailer hints that the villain Black Manta was after Aquaman’s family.

According to Entertainment Weekly, Amber Heard’s overall screen time for the 2-hour movie is approximately 10 to 20 minutes.