Amber Heard Claims She Was 'Sexploited' By Unauthorized Body-Double Nude Scene
Amber Heard claims she is the victim of sexploitation due to the alleged unauthorized use of a nude body double in the film London Fields.
In November, Heard was sued for $10 million by London Fields producer Christopher Hanley and the production company Nicola Six for breach of contract after she allegedly failed to “perform certain acting services” - including in several nude scenes.
In the court documents obtained by PEOPLE, Hanley also accuses Heard of failing to comply with her publicity contract by refusing to attend the 2015 Toronto Film Festival premiere of the film, which has yet to be released.
But Heard shot back on Thursday, filing a cross-complaint against Hanley and his wife Roberta for allegedly including unapproved nude scenes in the final “Producers cut” of the film. The Hollywood Reporter was first to report the news.
In court documents obtained by PEOPLE, Heard’s lawyers state, “This case shines a spotlight on the dark underbelly of Hollywood.”
The documents continued: “Amber Heard is the latest victim of this lascivious and sexploitive couple. A rising film star, Heard agreed to play the lead in the motion picture entitled London Fields based on Martin Amis’s novel. After reading the script, she insisted on specific restrictions about nudity and sex scenes in the film as a condition to agreeing to appear in the movie. Hanley ... expressly agreed to Heard’s terms, and they were memorialized in the Nudity Rider to her contract.”
Heard says she consulted with director Matthew Cullen - who is also being sued - about her restrictions with sex scenes, and Cullen’s “Directors cut” complied with her deal, reports THR. But when Hanley took over and created a “Producers cut,” unauthorized sexual images and scenes were allegedly used.
“The Hanleys also caused to be filmed secretly several additional nude and sex scenes with a body double for Heard and included them in the Producer’s Cut’ - also in violation of the Nudity Rider,” states the cross-complaint. “The secret filming of this body double footage was not on the schedule that had been provided to Heard and was shot with a skeleton crew only after Heard had completed filming and had left the set. The body double footage included an explicit pornographic sex scene that Heard would never have agreed to do herself ... The body double footage was designed and intended to leave anyone who saw the images with the distinct impression that it was Heard.”
The “pornographic” body double scene allegedly involved a woman police officer, a woman detainee on the hood of a car and a police baton, reports THR.
The original complaint filed by Nicola Six, which was obtained by PEOPLE, alleged that Heard “falsely claimed to Nicola Six that she had not contractually agreed to allow the use of nudity in the Picture.”
In her cross-complaint, Heard also claims that Hanley insisted on being provided with “continuity photos” of the actress during filming to ensure her makeup was consistent from scene to scene.
“Such photos can include various states of undress during wardrobe changes,” continues the cross-complaint. “There is no legitimate business purpose for Hanley to have such photographs after filming was concluded, and the Hanleys had and have no rights to use such photographs for any proper purpose after filming ended. The Hanleys’ prurient interest in exploiting Heard - both on and off camera - speaks volumes about their values.”
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Heard is cross-claiming for breach of contract, misappropriation of the right of publicity, invasion of privacy by public disclosure of private facts, fraud and deceit and more. She’s seeking compensatory and punitive damages plus a permanent injunction to prohibit distribution of the version of London Fields.
In a statement to PEOPLE, the plaintiff’s attorney Mathew Rosengart calls Heard’s cross-complaint a “work of fiction.”
“The Cross-Complaint is a work of fiction, worthy of Ms. Heard’s London Fields character Nicola Six,’ and it marks the latest in a series of fantastical allegations she has made, including in connection with her high-profile divorce,” says Rosengart. “It is nothing more than a meritless smear tactic designed to distract from her own misconduct.”
He continues: “Seeking the limelight, Ms. Heard excitedly signed onto the starring role in London Fields, co-written by Roberta Hanley and esteemed novelist Martin Amis, and then for her own reasons, she illicitly tried to change the role and hijack the movie. Chris Hanley has an established track record as a supportive, talent-friendly producer, which makes the allegations all-the-more absurd. We look forward to taking Ms. Heard’s deposition shortly, when she will have to account, under oath, for her claims and misconduct.”
