The world’s love affair with actor Johnny Depp is over. It has been for quite some time. He is an actor who is known for specializing in outrageous caricatures, and audiences are sick of it. In fact, when Depp was revealed as Grindelwald in last year’s Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, in both showings I went to, there were audible chuckles throughout the theaters.

Now, audiences have grown to dislike him for other reasons — his alleged domestic abuse against ex-wife Amber Heard. Given all that backlash, some were hopeful that Depp would be replaced in the next film. A cast photo and title reveal not too long ago revealed that they were doubling down on Depp, much to many audience members’ annoyance.

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So what does the production have to say for itself? Speaking with EW, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald director David Yates defended the actor, saying:

“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. 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.”

Of course, the accusations he speaks of started earlier this month with the revelation that Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein had made sexual advances on countless women. Since then, there have been countless accusations against many other big names in Hollywood, including Disney and Pixar head John Lasseter.

But is this a similar case with Depp? Yates doesn’t believe so, as there are many other women in Depp’s life who came to his defense, including Winona Ryder, Vanessa Paradis, and Lori Anne Allison.

“By testament, some of the women in [Depp’s] life have said the same thing — ‘that’s not the human being we know.’ 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.”

What do you think? Is this a good enough defense, or another example of Hollywood hypocrisy? Let us know your thoughts down below!

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SOURCE: EW