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J.K. Rowling Finally Responds to Criticism About Johnny Depp's Grindelwald Casting


In the spring of 2016, Amber Heard was granted a temporary restraining order against her then husband, Johnny Depp, after accusing him of domestic violence. The story sent shockwaves throughout Hollywood, and things only intensified as more details started trickling out. Several months later Heard dropped the charges against Depp, and her domestic violence case was dismissed. This happened in tandem with the finalization of their divorce.

The specifics of their case have never been confirmed, but Depp’s public image took a major hit as a result. Soon after, Harry Potter fans started protesting Depp’s casting as Grindelwald in the Fantastic Beasts franchise. (He had a cameo role in the first film, which came out in 2016, and has the titular role in the sequel, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.)

J.K. Rowling, who wrote the screenplays for both films, remained mum on the controversy for quite some time, but she finally spoke about it on Thursday, December 7, leaving a lengthy message on her personal website.

“When Johnny Depp was cast as Grindelwald, I thought he’d be wonderful in the role,” she wrote. “However, around the time of filming his cameo in the first movie, stories had appeared in the press that deeply concerned me and everyone most closely involved in the franchise. Harry Potter fans had legitimate questions and concerns about our choice to continue with Johnny Depp in the role. As David Yates, long-time Potter director, has already said, we naturally considered the possibility of recasting. I understand why some have been confused and angry about why that didn’t happen.”

Rowling says her inability to “speak openly to fans” about the Depp issue has been “difficult, frustrating, and at times painful.” Be she contends her silence was out of respect for the “agreements that have been put in place to protect the privacy of two people, both of whom have expressed a desire to get on with their lives.” (She’s presumably referring to Depp and Heard here.)

Rowling noted the people involved with The Crimes of Grindelwald are “genuinely happy” with Depp’s casting. However, she offered this caveat: “I accept that there will be those who are not satisfied with our choice of actor in the title role. However, conscience isn’t governable by committee. Within the fictional world and outside it, we all have to do what we believe to be the right thing.” You can read her full statement here.

The social media reactions to Rowling’s statement have been less than enthusiastic, to say the least. Many fans are upset more action wasn’t taken in this situation; they fear keeping Depp on board is only enabling his reported abuse. Here are just a few of the responses we found:

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is slated for a 2018 release.

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J.K. Rowling Just Shut Down Someone Who Mansplained What a Book Was to an Author





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Twitter Is Really Unhappy That Johnny Depp Is Returning for the 'Fantastic Beasts' Sequel


Before Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey, before Mark Schwahn and Louis C.K., it wasn’t impossible for allegations of sexual and domestic assault to have little impact on a powerful man’s career. It seemed like they skipped past the consequences of their actions and straight into the “second chance” or “redemptive” phases of their legacy.

In 2016, one of the year’s biggest Hollywood-adjacent stories was Amber Heard and Johnny Depp’s divorce. It wrapped with Depp paying Heard $7 million and Heard—who had earlier filed for a restraining order against Depp and reportedly submitted a photo in court of her with a bruised eye—dropping her case against Depp alleging domestic violence.

In 2016, Depp appeared in Disney’s Alice Through the Looking Glass and Warner Bros.’ Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, where he played the dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald. In 2017, he’s slated for 20th Century Fox’s Murder on the Orient Express and Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar’s Revenge, along with four other films. His IMDb page lists three other movies in production and two others that have been announced. One of these includes 2018’s—and, once again, Disney’s—Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.

At a time when production studios are reportedly entertaining cutting Kevin Spacey from House of Cards and severing ties with Transparent star Jeffrey Tambor, also under fire for alleged sexual misconduct, it’s not impossible to remove men who have been accused of physical, sexual, or emotional violence and abuse of their power from their projects from shows that center around them—and discuss, simultaneously, ways that those shows can still go on.

Which is why Twitter is really angry that Depp is still going to be in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. The plot will reportedly focus on Depp’s character, the aforementioned Grindelwald, and last week the movie’s official Twitter account tweeted a look at the cast:

Almost immediately, users took to the “reply” feature to express their distaste that Depp remained in the cast picture.

Some pleaded for the return of Colin Farrell, who played a version of Grindelwald in the first Fantastic Beasts.

Others volunteered Jeff Goldblum…

…or the casting of Christopher Plummer (who replaced Kevin Spacey in the film All the Money in the World once allegations against him reached a fever pitch).

Some called on J.K. Rowling to exert her influence over the casting and get Depp out of the role.

Still others vowed to boycott the franchise:

It’s pretty much summed up in this tweet, though:

Although it still seems unlikely Depp will be recast, his role in the movie is creating a lot of division among fans of the franchise. Given the raft of allegations against so many men in Hollywood—and the demand for consequences—it’ll be interesting to see how J.K. Rowling and those behind the film respond to the outcry.

Related Stories:
–J.K. Rowling Confirmed That There Will Be Five Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Movies
–Major New Plot Details About the Next ‘Fantastic Beasts’ Movie Are Here
–Young Pope to Play Young Dumbledore in Fantastic Beasts Sequel





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