Depp no ​​longer in "Fantastic Beasts" and speaks out against "cancel culture"

"Fantastic Beasts 3" will be released in theaters on April 15 next year, and Mads Mikkelsen will take over the role of Grindelwald from Depp.

Since Johnny Depp first starred in "Fantastic Beasts", the domestic violence incidents and legal cases surrounding him have attracted high attention in society. Fans and critics have put increasing pressure on Warner Bros. to ask Depp to withdraw from the series. In 2020, Johnny Depp agreed to withdraw from the "Fantastic Beasts" crew after losing the defamation case.

Depp appeared at the 69th San Sebastian Film Festival yesterday and slammed cancel culture, saying "no one is safe".

Cancel culture refers to the phenomenon in which public figures on social media are collectively boycotted by public opinion because of "problematic" remarks or behaviors. "Problems" usually include crimes, racial and gender discrimination, historical controversies, etc.

The celebrities who were initially "canceled" were mostly involved in some serious "crimes", such as Kevin Spacey, who was exposed in the sexual assault scandal, and American producer Harvey Weinstein. Many people believed that they were "deserved" by the boycott and "made the powerful accountable for their actions."

This year, cancel culture has intensified. The targets of cancelation have gradually shifted from celebrities to writers, scholars and even ordinary people. JK Rowling, the author of Harry Potter, was criticized for her discrimination against transgender people because of her views on transgenderism on social media. Two major Harry Potter fan websites issued a joint statement, announcing that they would distance themselves from JK Rowling.

Last year, 150 writers and scholars, including Harry Potter author JK Rowling, issued a joint letter condemning the "cancel culture" for endangering freedom of speech. The letter stated that "public humiliation, collective exclusion, and blind moral values" do not contribute to social fairness, justice, and rational debate. They also mentioned that social media can indeed bring positive changes to society, but the environment for open debate should not be lost.