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As the title states:

Why hasn't Warner Bros. replaced Johnny Depp as Grindelwald?

A few things to note

  • There has been an outcry of angry fans wanting Warner Bros. to replace him.
  • Johnny Depp allegedly abused his ex-wife
  • The current climate in Hollywood is one of outrage at men's behaviour against women. (#metoo)
  • Actors have been replaced for similar things recently (Kevin Spacey being one of them)

Given the above, I do not think that the question is unreasonable. I am not stating that Depp SHOULD be replaced, not that he shouldn't. I have no agenda in this question, I am merely curious as to Warner Bros. reasoning for not replacing him.

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    Why would they issue an official statement? There is only downside to that namely drawing attention to the controversy around him. While his alleged behavior is reprehensible, it is alleged, and isn't (I believe) of sexual impropriety. What kind of thing would they attempt to say in such a statement?
    – iandotkelly
    Commented Nov 22, 2017 at 20:01
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    Why would they? I feel like I'm missing some context worth providing here. Commented Nov 22, 2017 at 20:04
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    Why the down votes? Please let me know how to improve the question. Commented Nov 22, 2017 at 20:59
  • Because there is no reason to replace him. Maybe they saw his evidence list which has a ton of stuff I can't go into here because of the rules that proves he was innocent.
    – user59235
    Commented Nov 23, 2017 at 2:26

1 Answer 1

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This entire question feels like it's conflated with recent unrelated allegations/revelations about misconduct in the entertainment industry (and beyond).

Nevertheless, it was addressed at the time of the first movie

The film’s executive producer David Heyman, when asked about Depp’s casting and the controversy surrounding the abuse allegations, said: “Here’s the thing: Misogyny, abuse, maltreatment of people is unacceptable — but none of us know what happened in that room. So I think it would be unfair for me to be judge and jury, or for any of us to be judge and jury.”

Source

With thanks to Gunnar we now have a statement from director David Yates

“Honestly, there’s an issue at the moment where there’s a lot of people being accused of things, they’re being accused by multiple victims, and it’s compelling and frightening,” Yates said. “With Johnny, it seems to me there was one person who took a pop at him and claimed something. I can only tell you about the man I see every day: He’s full of decency and kindness, and that’s all I see. Whatever accusation was out there doesn’t tally with the kind of human being I’ve been working with.”

“By testament, some of the women in [Depp’s] life have said the same thing — ‘that’s not the human being we know,'” Yates said. “It’s very different [than cases] where there are multiple accusers over many years that need to be examined and we need to reflect on our industry that allows that to roll on year in and year out. Johnny isn’t in that category in any shape or form. So to me, it doesn’t bear any more analysis. It’s a dead issue.”

Source

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    There has, since I posted this question, been an update on the issue. Yates made a statement regarding this in an interview with EW. Since you were the first to answer, @Paulie_D, I think it fair that you get to add it to your answer before a new one is posted? ew.com/movies/2017/11/28/… Commented Nov 30, 2017 at 12:48
  • @GunnarSödergren Thanks for this. I've added details from the link provided.
    – Paulie_D
    Commented Nov 30, 2017 at 12:52

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