Bonham Carter, who has starred opposite Heard’s ex-husband Johnny Depp in five films, criticized the “Aquaman” actress following Depp’s defamation trial win. “My view is that she got on that pendulum,” Bonham Carter told The Times UK of Heard’s statements amid the #MeToo movement. “That’s the problem with these things — that people will jump on the bandwagon because it’s the trend and to be the poster girl for it.” Bonham Carter added that Depp is “completely vindicated” following the trial. “I think he’s fine now. Totally fine,” she said, noting that the actor “certainly went through it.” Heard was ordered to pay Depp $10.35 million in damages on June 1. Heard called the jury’s decision a “setback” for women everywhere, saying, “It sets back the clock to a time when a woman who spoke up and spoke out could be publicly shamed and humiliated.”
Depp issued his own statement at the time, reading, “False, very serious and criminal allegations were levied at me via the media, which triggered an endless barrage of hateful content, although no charges were ever brought against me. It had already traveled around the world twice within a nanosecond and it had a seismic impact on my life and my career. And six years later, the jury gave me my life back. I am truly humbled…Truth never perishes.” To The Times UK, Bonham Carter decried the concept of cancel culture as a whole. “Do you ban a genius for their sexual practices? There would be millions of people who if you looked closely enough at their personal life you would disqualify them,” Bonham Carter said. “You can’t ban people. I hate cancel culture. It has become quite hysterical and there’s a kind of witch hunt and a lack of understanding.” She also defended JK Rowling amid backlash to transphobic comments. “It’s horrendous, a load of bollocks,” the “Harry Potter” star said. “I think she has been hounded. She’s allowed her opinion, particularly if she’s suffered abuse. Everybody carries their own history of trauma and forms their opinions from that trauma and you have to respect where people come from and their pain. You don’t all have to agree on everything — that would be insane and boring. She’s not meaning it aggressively, she’s just saying something out of her own experience.” Bonham Carter, who played Bellatrix Lestrange in the franchise, also accused the “Harry Potter” cast members who’ve spoken out against Rowling’s comments — including Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint — of only doing so to save their own reputations. “Personally I feel they should let her have her opinions, but I think they’re very aware of protecting their own fan base and their generation.” Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.
