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Disappointed in JKR and in her fans
Recently JKR released a statement supporting the casting of Johnny Depp, who was alleged to have abused his ex-wife. Presumably referencing the divorce settlement that the two reached, JKR 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.
Director David Yates in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, goes even further, essentially saying that he doesn't believe the abuse allegations because Depp is nice guy on the set and there haven't been any other allegations made against him, and strongly implies (without actually naming her) that Heard was lying. Because no abuser has ever appeared seemed like a nice guy in public (Bill Cosby or Matt Lauer, anyone?), and no woman has ever been afraid to come forward for fear of being accused of lying and having her career and reputation destroyed. /end sarcasm/
There are mixed pro and con comments on the above Mugglenet article, but this other one on J.K. Rowing and the Right to Be Innocent Until Proven Guilty has an overwhelming number of downright nasty ones calling Heard a liar and a gold digger. To say Depp is innocent until proven guilty is one thing (although the photos of Heard's bruised face were proof enough for me that I don't want to see him in a movie), but the amount of vicious and ugly victim-blaming and shaming is disgusting. I was surprised that Potter fans would act that way, but in hindsight, I shouldn't be. I remember how quickly the bulk of HP fandom turned against Steve VanderArk during the Harry Potter Lexicon trial and proclaimed that anyone who supported him was "not a true fan". So I shouldn't be surprised that fandom is rallying behind Depp now that JKR has given her approval to him. I wonder if she had said instead that Depp should step down, how many of them would be calling for him to fired with equal fervor?
Mugglecast at least expressed their disappointed reaction to Yates's interview in Episode 347, and pointed out that even if there was only one incident of abuse that doesn't make it okay. They have only just put up an episode regarding JKR's statement, and I'm curious to hear what they have to say.
Lemming-like fans aside, this insistence by JKR and Yates that Depp is a swell guy and we should totes be okay with his casting is tone deaf in this current climate where more and more women are coming forward with their experiences of being harassed, and more and more "nice guys" are being exposed as harassers. I'm really disappointed; I expected better from JKR, if not necessarily from WB and Yates.
Director David Yates in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, goes even further, essentially saying that he doesn't believe the abuse allegations because Depp is nice guy on the set and there haven't been any other allegations made against him, and strongly implies (without actually naming her) that Heard was lying. Because no abuser has ever appeared seemed like a nice guy in public (Bill Cosby or Matt Lauer, anyone?), and no woman has ever been afraid to come forward for fear of being accused of lying and having her career and reputation destroyed. /end sarcasm/
There are mixed pro and con comments on the above Mugglenet article, but this other one on J.K. Rowing and the Right to Be Innocent Until Proven Guilty has an overwhelming number of downright nasty ones calling Heard a liar and a gold digger. To say Depp is innocent until proven guilty is one thing (although the photos of Heard's bruised face were proof enough for me that I don't want to see him in a movie), but the amount of vicious and ugly victim-blaming and shaming is disgusting. I was surprised that Potter fans would act that way, but in hindsight, I shouldn't be. I remember how quickly the bulk of HP fandom turned against Steve VanderArk during the Harry Potter Lexicon trial and proclaimed that anyone who supported him was "not a true fan". So I shouldn't be surprised that fandom is rallying behind Depp now that JKR has given her approval to him. I wonder if she had said instead that Depp should step down, how many of them would be calling for him to fired with equal fervor?
Mugglecast at least expressed their disappointed reaction to Yates's interview in Episode 347, and pointed out that even if there was only one incident of abuse that doesn't make it okay. They have only just put up an episode regarding JKR's statement, and I'm curious to hear what they have to say.
Lemming-like fans aside, this insistence by JKR and Yates that Depp is a swell guy and we should totes be okay with his casting is tone deaf in this current climate where more and more women are coming forward with their experiences of being harassed, and more and more "nice guys" are being exposed as harassers. I'm really disappointed; I expected better from JKR, if not necessarily from WB and Yates.