J.K. Rowling ‘happy’ about casting of Johnny Depp

The author has spoken. “Harry Potter” author, J.K. Rowling, has finally broken her silence about the controversial casting of Johnny Depp in the “Fantastic Beasts” movie franchise, which is set to continue next November with “Fantastic Beasts: the Crimes of Grindelwald.” Rowling supported Depp’s casting in a statement on her website.

“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.” The concerns surrounded allegations that Depp had abused his then-wife Amber Heard during their oneyear marriage in 2015.

After a restraining order due to Heard’s claims of emotional and physical abuse — to which she provided photographic and video proof — Heard and Depp reached a $7 million settlement.

Many fans saw the decision to keep Depp as antithetical to the theme of the series, using magic and friendship to counter abuse of power. However, Rowling not only stuck to the decision to cast Depp, she said she and the producers were “happy” to have Depp in the role and called it “the right thing.” “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,” Rowling said.