Johnny Depp Made a Surprise Comic-Con Appearance, and Amber Heard Was at the Venue

We know how to deal with an ex’s lighting-fast engagement (thanks, Selena Gomez and Cazzie David), but what's a person supposed do when their ex-spouse is in the same room following a nasty divorce?

There’s no easy answer.

Over the weekend, Amber Heard could have easily run into ex-husband Johnny Depp at Comic-Con in San Diego, where the actors appeared in back-to-back panels to promote their entirely separate projects, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (Depp) and Aquaman (Heard). Yikes!

Need a little refresher? These two finally settled their divorce in January 2017, and Depp paid Heard a $7 million settlement, which she pledged to donate to charity. But the lead up wasn’t so clear. In May 2016, Heard asked for a domestic violence restraining order after she filed to end their marriage, and made headlines with claims that Depp had been previously abusive. His lawyers denied the allegations, and at one point he even filed a defamation suit against The Sun, which reported claims about the abuse.

So … a potential run-in could have been understandably awkward, to say the least.

Luckily, it sounds like their handlers did an excellent job of maintaining distance between the former couple. And we’re glad to hear that, considering Depp, who made a surprise appearance, was dressed up as the villain he portrays on Fantastic Beasts, blonde locks and all. We know platinum hair is having a moment, but bleached eyebrows too? Scary.

According to Entertainment Weekly, Depp delivered a speech (in character) with political undertones, saying, “We who live for freedom or truth, the moment has come to rise up and take our rightful place in the world.” Ominous, dude.

Despite backlash from fans over Warner Bros.'s decision to keep Depp in the upcoming film following the allegations of abuse, the studio and J.K. Rowling stood by his side. “Based on our understanding of the circumstances, the filmmakers and I are not only comfortable sticking with our original casting, but genuinely happy to have Johnny playing a major character in the movies,” the Harry Potter author wrote on her website in December.

Whether or not his involvement will detract audiences from viewing the film will ultimately be reflected in those box office numbers.