As Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them pushes toward its second installment, some fans started questioning whether Johnny Depp, given his troubled history with ex-wife Amber Heard, should be allowed to continue as key character Gellert Grindelwald. In response, both Warner Bros and author JK Rowling released statements essentially admitting the situation was troubling but that they ultimately stood by Depp and wanted him to continue in the role. Now Amber Heard has come forward to release her own statement.
You can read the entirety of the post dropped on Instagram below.
There has been a lot written from varying perspectives about whether Johnny Depp should continue in the role, but it's likely Heard herself is referring here to WB's recent statement. In it, the studio quoted from Depp and Heard's joint statement, specifically the line "there was never any intent of physical or emotional harm."
Amber Heard's Instagram post, like everything else associated with this case, is really complicated. During the couple's combative divorce, both the media and their own lawyers threw around accusations of domestic violence, addiction, infidelity and fabricating the severity of the problems for money. Ultimately, they released the aforementioned joint statement, which, despite being only a few lines long, covers a lot of ground and leaves a lot of unanswered questions.
Attempting to explain what exactly someone meant by a comment or a joint break-up statement or an Instagram Post is a really dangerous game. Some are taking her post as merely a middle finger toward WB for oversimplying something really complicated. Others are taking her post as evidence she thinks Depp should have been fired from the role. The truth is we don't know exactly. If she wants to clarify her position, she'll clarify it.
Over the past few months, Hollywood's often disturbing power dynamics have been exposed in a public way as never before. Some of the movie industry's most powerful people have been forced off high profile projects, fired or, in some cases, informally barred from working. In the extreme cases, there has been near uniform agreement about consequences, but in murkier situations without long-term patterns of sexual harassment or domestic abuse, there are many conflicting opinions on what to do.
It's unclear whether Warner Bros or JK Rowling will address this matter further. Unless they do, it's safe to assume the plan is to continue forward with Johnny Depp. We'll keep you updated if anything new emerges.
