Helena Bonham Carter Defends Johnny Depp and J.K. Rowling in New Interview

Helena Bonham Carter treasures her friendships dearly and is willing to stick up for her peers when she feels they’re being treated poorly. And that’s exactly what she did in a recent interview with The Sunday Times Magazine, where she defended her two Hollywood friends Johnny Depp and J.K. Rowling. 

She wasn’t shy when it came to either of the two, who have been under a lot of fire in the heat of the “Me Too” movement and the sudden rise of “Cancel Culture.” She believes Depp is ‘completely vindicated’ after his defamation lawsuit with Amber Heard and that Rowling is being ‘hounded’ for her transphobic comments. 

“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,” said Bonham Carter in the interview. She wishes people would take a second to understand others when they have a belief or opinion that differs from theirs. 

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Johnny Depp was recently awarded $10 million in a defamation lawsuit that found his ex-wife, Amber Heard, guilty of defamation after she wrote an op-ed in the Washington Post – essentially accusing Depp of domestic violence. On the other hand, Heard won $2 million in a separate defamation counterclaim. 

When Helena Bonham Carter was asked if Depp was a victim of the #MeToo movement, she was quick to agree and seemed annoyed that it went that way. “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,” she said in the interview. 

As for J.K. Rowling, she’s being criticized for comments she made in the past that have come off as transphobic and ignorant. While she has tried to explain her beliefs on numerous occasions, including a long essay, it has only resulted in her doubling down on the opinions everyone finds so disturbing. 

Helena Bonham Carter isn’t having any of it. “It’s horrendous, a load of bollocks. I think she has been hounded. It’s been taken to the extreme, the judgmentalism of people. She’s allowed her opinion, particularly if she’s suffered abuse,” she said, adding that Rowling isn’t being ‘aggressive’ with her beliefs.

Helena Bonham Carter Doesn’t Believe in Cancel Culture

Helena Bonham Carter didn’t stop there. She gave her two cents on the landscape of cancel culture, ultimately questioning the motive and intent behind the movement – which she feels is jaded. It’s a stance we’ve seen several celebrities take recently, especially those that have firsthand experience as a victim. 

“There would be millions of people who if you looked closely enough at their personal life you would disqualify them. 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 said in her The Sunday Times Magazine interview.

While she believes “cancel culture” has its uses – citing Kevin Spacey as one example – she says it can also be just as damaging to those that don’t deserve it – citing Johnny Depp as one example. Her opinion advances a notion that many have questioned in the past, that being the validity of cancel culture. 

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“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,” she continued. We all have unique experiences in life that play a role in our beliefs and opinions – all she’s saying is people have a right to those opinions and beliefs.