I have been a die-hard Ravenclaw and Harry Potter aficionado for over fifteen years (Gah, I’m old!). So when the private lives of Johnny Depp and ex-wife Amber Heard started to rip apart my fandom, it made me incredibly sad. There is so much information and so much mis-information floating around that it’s really hard to know what to think about the situation.

The controversy stems from Johnny Depp’s lead role in the new “Fantastic Beasts” movie, “The Crimes of Grindlewald”. As he has been accused by Amber Heard of domestic violence, a lot of fans are ashamed, or even angry, that JK Rowling has allowed him to remain in the movie. Thousands of fans have called for his part (the lead role of evil wizard Gellert Grindelwald) to be re-cast and for Johnny to be kicked to the curb. On December 7^th, Rowling broke her silence on the issue with a statement posted to her website.

From JK: “…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...”

The phrase “genuinely happy” is the one being pulled out and quoted by various news outlets and is the sentiment that is riling up the potterheads. The fandom is getting heated, but it doesn’t seem like very many people actually have their facts straight. Admittedly, we are talking about something that happened behind closed doors more than a year ago in the privacy of a marriage between two movie stars so far removed from our everyday lives that we really might as well be talking about fictional characters.

Firstly, there is a claim floating around that Amber rescinded her allegations of abuse. I have not been able to find one shred of evidence for this and must conclude that it is false. What she did do, is remove the restraining order against Johnny that was granted in late May 2016 after claims of domestic violence on two separate occasions.

Secondly, there are a lot of fans who are claiming Amber has been convicted of domestic violence herself in the past, and that if it is true, it somehow negates or excuses the alleged abuse by Depp. This also does not seem to be true. In 2009, Amber was arrested after fighting with her then-girlfriend in an airport and booked for a domestic violence charge. However, the case was dropped by the prosecutor the next day.

Whatever the case may be for Amber’s past, it does not provide an excuse for the alleged abuse by Depp. Domestic violence is not okay in any circumstance. I must emphasize here again though, that none of us actually knows the truth. All we can do is seek out and collect the information presented to us, real or not, and make a decision based on what we have.

Heard and Depp released a joint statement following their divorce which seems to remove some blame from Depp without actually denying that abuse occurred. It also clears up that rumor that Heard was lying about the abuse in order to get a larger settlement. “Our relationship was intensely passionate and at times volatile, but always bound by love. Neither party has made false accusations for financial gains. There was never an 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.”

To me this is not a black and white situation of good and evil; instead it falls into the grey area where most of human interaction lies. While we are seeking out the sexual and physical abusers in our society in order to bring them to justice, we cannot forget that we need proof. We must believe victims when they come forward, but also understand that punishment should fit the crime. I believe Amber, but I also believe that we don't have all of the information and that we don't need it. We should respect Amber's statement of not delving into this any further.

In her statement, Rowling clearly agrees, and this is why I stand with JK Rowling. “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...”. She and the other filmmakers have taken what they know and made a decision. Considering her position in the creation of the films, I trust that she has more information on this situation than I do. I mean, for one thing, she actually knows Depp (and it sounds like maybe Amber too) personally. There are thousands of angry fans who cannot say the same.

For me it really comes down to the fact that I believe JK Rowling has proven herself to be an admirable human being. She is involved with many charities, including her own “Lumos”, and her whole creation, the Harry Potter universe, centers around the importance of acceptance and love. She’s been supportive of the fall of Harvey Weinstein and other Hollywood scum as well as the #metoo movement. So I defer to her judgement. As fans, Rowling deserves our respect and our benefit of the doubt. If you feel you should boycott the movie, her statement supports your right to do that too, but don’t rip apart what is usually a very positive community over a situation we really know very little about.