Undeniable controversy has been sparked ever since Johnny Depp was cast in the new Harry Potter spin-off franchise Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. His casting outraged many people due to the accusations previously made by Depp’s ex-wife Amber Heard about his emotional and physical abuse of her during their marriage.
Fans believed that Depp should not have been given such a significant role, despite his talent, because it would be wrong and unfair to give an accused abuser such a large level of support, since it shows no repercussions or consequences for his actions.
Depp, who appeared briefly at the end of the first Fantastic Beasts film, is to play the role of infamous wizard Gellert Grindelwald in the upcoming film Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. How painfully ironic that Depp should have such significant crimes of his own under his belt.
Johnny Depp as Gellert Grindelwald in the ‘Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald’ poster. Image Credit: Warner Bros.
Daniel Radcliffe, the actor who played the famous Harry Potter, has finally shared his own thoughts on the matter in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, saying that he “can see why people are frustrated with the response that they were given.” The frustrating responses he refers to could be that of the others involved in the franchise. JK Rowling, writer of the Harry Potter books and of the upcoming Fantastic Beasts film, director David Yates and the Warner Bros studios have all previously issued statements defending Depp and the casting choice. Daniel Radcliffe is one of the few to condemn it.
Image Credit: David M. Benett/Dave Benett/WireImage
Radcliffe expressed that the issue was tough for him to address, because he wanted to support the producers, since they were the reason for his own big break in the Harry Potter franchise, giving him “a great start in life and an amazing job.”
However, Radcliffe does address the issue and subsequently does not let us down. He says:
“This is a weird analogy to draw – in the NFL, there are lots of players arrested for smoking weed and there is other people’s behavior that goes way beyond that it’s tolerated, because they’re very famous players.”
Radcliffe continues to comment on the unjust defending of Johnny Depp:
“I suppose the thing I was struck by was [that] we did have a guy who was reprimanded for weed on the (original Harry Potter) film, essentially, so obviously what Johnny has been accused of is much greater than that.”
The “guy” that Radcliffe refers to here is Jamie Waylett, aka Vincent Crabbe, who was dropped from the original franchise after being arrested for growing weed.
Fans have so far been delighted with Radcliffe’s response to this controversial issue, and I think that it is fair to say, nothing but respect for OUR Harry Potter.
