Johnny Depp's Career Over; Actor Is Next Harvey Weinstein, Former Federal Prosecutor Says

Johnny Depp's career is over after he lost the libel case against The Sun and losing his role in "Fantastic Beasts" is just the beginning, according to experts.

Depp faced a huge blow following his ex-wife Amber Heard's allegations that he was abusive and violent. He sued the U.K. tabloid The Sun for calling him a "wife-beater" but the judge found the outlet’s article "substantially true." Experts are now convinced that the controversy will end his career.

"I predict his career may never recover," Neama Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor, told Insider. "Disney has lost interest in Depp for its 'Pirates of the Caribbean' franchise, and I can't imagine any other major studio wanting to work with him. He's going to be the next Harvey Weinstein."

Another expert believes that brands, filmmakers and producers will distance themselves from Depp because employing him would mean a sign of acceptance or endorsement, and many studious would rather make a safe bet.

"The reality is Warner Bros. had no choice in the matter to bid farewell to Depp," said Stacy Jones, the CEO of Hollywood Branded, a pop culture influencer and branded-content marketing agency in Los Angeles.

"'Fantastic Beasts' is a family film, and physical abuse alongside drug and alcohol abuse are nonstarters for consideration, even when the role being played is that of a bad guy."

Jones told Insider that the only way for Depp is to "admit fault, accept responsibility" and begin to reform. "At no point until then" will Depp's career "have a fighting chance of survival," she added.

Meanwhile, Rahmani also advised Depp to "get out of the defamation-lawsuit business while he still has a fragment of a movie career.” Rahmani thinks Depp would also not win his case against Heard in Virginia.

"The Virginia case is also a loser, like many celebrity family-law cases that do little to show celebrities in a good light. Depp should stick to scripts written by others rather than airing his real-life drama in a courtroom," Rahmani said.

Meanwhile, Depp’s supporters continue to seek justice for him. They called out Justice Andrew Nicol for allegedly showing bias. They also slammed Warner Bros. for asking Depp to resign but still keep Heard in the "Aquaman" franchise when she also admitted in a leaked recording that she hit Depp.

"Johnny Depp is asked to resign as Grindlewald but Amber Heard, who has significant amount of evidence to point her has the perpetrator of domestic abuse, is still in Aquaman? Oh, double standards," one wrote on Twitter.

"Warner Bros asking Johnny Depp to resign is so f-----g despicable and so shameful. They had to put their financial business above having moral principles? Use the same card and fire Amber Heard from Aquaman I f-----g dare you!" another netizen tweeted.

Depp announced on Instagram last week that Warner Bros. did not fire him but asked him to resign from the "Fantastic Beasts" franchise after he lost his libel case against The Sun.