Amber Heard has spoken out after JK Rowling defended her decision to keep Johnny Depp in the Fantastic Beasts sequel.
Harry Potter creator Rowling, 52, penned a statement saying that she was “not only comfortable sticking with our original casting, but genuinely happy to have Johnny playing a major character in the movies”.
While not specifically referring to Rowling, Heard, 31, then reissued the statement she previously penned with Depp, 54, on the end of their marriage – a move interpreted as a response to comments made by the best-selling author.
“For the record, this was our full, joint statement,” she wrote.
“To pick and choose certain lines and quote them out of context, is not right. Women, stay strong.”
Rowling had defended her decision to keep Depp in the role of Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald.
Some fans expressed their disappointment after Depp was accused of domestic violence by his ex-wife.
Rowling wrote in a statement: “When Johnny Depp was cast as Grindelwald, I thought he’d be wonderful in the role.
“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.”
She said she understands why “some have been confused and angry” that Depp was not recast.
Rowling had said: “However, 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, must be respected.
“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.”
She added: “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.”
Depp and Heard split in April last year after 15 months of marriage and later issued the joint statement, saying: “Our relationship was intensely passionate and at times volatile, but always bound by love.
“Neither party has made false accusations for financial gain. There was never any intent of physical or emotional harm. Amber wishes the best for Johnny in the future. Amber will be donating financial proceeds from the divorce to a charity.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here