Johnny Depp Has Finally Addressed The Controversy Around His ‘Fantastic Beasts’ Casting
Spoilers: he thinks he's the real victim in all this.
Johnny Depp has finally addressed the ongoing controversy over his casting in the Fantastic Beasts franchise, telling Entertainment Weekly that he was “falsely accused” of abusing his ex-wife Amber Heard.
Depp played the villainous wizard Grindelwald at the end of the first Harry Potter spinoff Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and reprises the role in the upcoming sequel Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. But his casting was controversial, given Heard had accused Depp of repeated emotional and physical abuse during their two year marriage.
The actor has repeatedly denied Heard’s allegations, and has been defended by Fantastic Beasts screenwriter J.K. Rowling, who wrote last year that “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”. Rowling received considerable criticism over those comments, something that Depp specifically addressed during his interview with EW.
“I felt bad for J.K. having to field all these various feelings from people out there,” he said. “I felt bad that she had to take that. But ultimately, there is real controversy. The fact remains I was falsely accused.”
“J.K. has seen the evidence and therefore knows I was falsely accused, and that’s why she has publicly supported me,” he added. “She doesn’t take things lightly. She would not stand up if she didn’t know the truth.”
Depp is currently suing UK tabloid The Sun over a story in which he was described as a “wife-beater”.
In a statement provided to EW, Heard’s attorney said that “as the parties agreed in their divorce to resolve future disputes in confidential arbitration, that is the appropriate forum to address Mr. Depp’s public denials that he abused Ms. Heard”.
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald hits cinemas in Australia on November 15.