Amber Heard weighs in on the Fantastic Beasts Johnny Depp casting

J.K. Rowling, David Yates, and Warner Bros. all defended keeping Johnny Depp in Fantastic Beasts. But now Amber Heard is making sure her side is told.

Amber Heard has responded to J.K. Rowling’s defense of keeping Johnny Depp in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald and called out the author and Warner Bros. for misusing her words and using her divorce statement out of context.

Fans had been demanding answers from Rowling about why they haven’t recast Depp in light of Heard’s abuse allegations for a while now. She finally came out with a statement on Thursday, and it was incredibly disappointing. Rowling claimed that “Based on our understanding of the circumstances,” she and the Fantastic Beasts filmmakers “are not only comfortable sticking with our original casting, but genuinely happy to have Johnny playing a major character in the movies.”

Similarly, Warner Bros. defended Depp’s casting by picking and choosing lines from Heard and Depp’s statement after their divorce was finalized. The studio said it kept him because “This matter has been jointly addressed by both parties, in a statement in which they said ‘there was never any intent of physical or emotional harm.’” It acknowledged this is a complex issue, but “based on the circumstances and the information available to us,” it was keeping Depp in Fantastic Beasts.

The problem? That’s not what the statement said. It also talked about how Heard and Depp had a “passionate and at times volatile” relationship and that “neither party has made false accusations for financial gain.”

Fans were extremely disappointed with Rowling’s statement. And they weren’t alone. After Rowling came out with her defense, Heard took to social media to post the full statement she and Depp made after their divorce was finalized. “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,” the statement read.

Heard also slammed Rowling for picking certain lines from the statement. “For the record, this was our FULL joint statement,” she said. “To pick & choose certain lines & quote them out of context, is not right. Women, stay strong.”

By picking certain lines from the statement or defending Depp’s casting because they understood the “circumstances,” Rowling and Warner Bros. seem to be trying to say Heard’s not telling the truth.

By vaguely talking about understanding the “circumstances,” Rowling looks like she’s claiming that she knows something about Heard and Depp’s marriage and divorce that others don’t. But the only circumstances here fans see are that Heard accused Depp of abuse and filed for and later dropped a restraining order against him.

What makes things worse is that it seems like everyone had weighed in on Heard’s experiences except the woman herself up until now. We’d heard from Rowling, Warner Bros., and David Yates about Depp’s casting in Fantastic Beasts. And they all seemed to discredit Heard and call her a liar. Rowling and Warner Bros. understood the “circumstances” of the situation and decided Depp’s side was more reliable. Yates believed this was a dead issue because Heard was the only one to take a “pop” at Depp. Plus, Yates knew Depp himself and he’s not that kind of guy.

Next: J.K. Rowling addresses Johnny Depp casting controversy

The only person we hadn’t heard from is Depp’s ex-wife herself. But Heard is finally speaking out and making sure we know her side of the story.