Four days after a court ruled that Johnny Depp abused his ex-wife Amber Heard during their tumultuous time together, the actor angrily announced Friday that he was asked to give up his role as the dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald in the “Fantastic Beasts” film franchise.
“I wish to let you know that I have been asked to resign by Warner Bros. from my role as Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts and I have respected and agreed to that request,” Depp wrote on Instagram Friday.
Depp’s exit from the lucrative “Harry Potter” series comes days after he lost his libel case against News Group Newspapers, publisher of The Sun, and the tabloid’s executive editor Dan Wootton. In a 2018 article, The Sun alleged that the once beloved star was “a wife beater.” In a stunning verdict that went against most expectations, a judge ruled that the article was “substantially true,” the Daily Mail and Daily Beast reported.
In his Instagram post, Depp confirmed that he plans to appeal the ruling. “The surreal judgement of the court in the U.K. will not change my fight to tell the truth and I confirm that I plan to appeal,” he said. “My resolve remains strong and I intend to prove that the allegations against me are false. My life and career will not be defined by this moment in time.”
Thus far, his career and reputation have taken a major hit from Heard’s allegations. His casting in the “Fantastic Beasts” franchise divided “Harry Potter” fans and forced author J.K. Rowling to make the controversial move to come to his defense in 2017.
Fans felt betrayed by Depp’s casting because Rowling has become known through her fiction and her social media as a strong advocate for women’s empowerment and for survivors of abuse. Rowling said she was “genuinely happy to have Johnny playing a major character in the movies.”
Rowing explained in a statement that she had been “deeply concerned” by Heard’s allegations, but said she and the the filmmakers had certain insight into what happened between Depp and Heard. This insight apparently led her and the filmmakers to believe that the violence in the marriage was mutual or somehow exaggerated. As of early Friday, Rowling had not issued any statement about Depp leaving the Grindelwald role. Her usually active Twitter account has been quiet since mid-October.
It was seen as a risky move for Depp to file his libel suit because it meant that tawdry details of his and Heard’s behavior during their five years together were aired in a public trial over the summer. Depp must have thought the trouble was worth it to save his career as one of Hollywood’s most popular and bankable stars.
During the 16-day trial in July, the judge heard multiple allegations against Depp, including the time in 2014 when Heard said a drunken Depp slapped and kicked her on a flight from Boston to Los Angeles, before passing out in the toilet. The Sun claimed that Depp’s jealousy, addictions and misogyny led to “violent explosions,” including a 2015 fight in Australia in which Depp’s finger was severed and he used the stump to scrawl messages in his own blood.
Depp, moreover, faced intense questioning about his extravagant, self-indulgent Hollywood lifestyle, his abuse of alcohol and drugs, and allegations of violence. Depp and Heard, 34, began dating near the end of 2011, married in 2015, but split in 2016, when Heard filed a domestic violence restraining order against him.
During testimony, Depp admitted to drinking and using cocaine excessively and discussed losing the $650 million he made during the height of his “Pirates of the Caribbean” fame. He also accused Heard of having an affair with billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk, which Heard denied, and was questioned about threatening to cut Musk’s penis off.
