J.K. Rowling
Not everybody is upset with J.K. Rowling for supporting Johnny Depp’s casting in “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.” In this photo, the writer poses as she arrives for the European premiere of the film “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” at Cineworld Imax, Leicester Square in London on Nov. 15, 2016. Reuters/Neil Hall

A lot of people are protesting against Johnny Depp’s casting in “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald,” but Warner Bros. Studios and author J.K. Rowling have decided not to recast his character, Gellert Gindelwald.

“Harry Potter” fans, who have mostly supported Rowling and her views, began to lambast her on social media. As a victim of domestic abuse herself, fans said Rowling should have been more understanding and promptly removed Depp. Many moviegoers even said they will boycott the movie because they don’t want to see Depp as part of the film.

However, not everybody hates Rowling for her decision. In fact, she still has some supporters left. Andy Hill of Metro wrote in an article that he is inclined to give Rowling the benefit of the doubt.

“My instinct, reading JK’s statement of support yesterday, is to believe every word. I trust her judgement in this complex and delicate matter,” he said. “She’s a brilliant writer, a hugely intelligent woman and, most pertinently, a peerless feminist role model. That certainly doesn’t mean, by the way, I don’t believe Amber Heard’s accusations of domestic violence. We’ve all seen the video. But the fact is, beyond the virtue-signalling cacophony swamping social media right now, very few people are in possession of the facts.”

Other netizens seem to feel the same way.

In her statement, Rowling said that Depp seemed perfect when they first chose him as Grindelwald. She added that Warner Bros. Studios seriously considered recasting the character because of the issues surrounding his personal life, but she hinted that there are things that they cannot tell the public because they want to “protect the privacy of two people, both of whom have expressed a desire to get on with their lives.” Because of this, there’s an “inability to speak openly to fans about this issue.”

“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 continued.

“Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald” will be released on Nov. 16, 2018.

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