'Harry Potter' fan says J.K. Rowling blocked her after she criticised Johnny Depp
A Harry Potter fan has gone viral on Twitter after she was apparently blocked by J.K. Rowling for tweeting a question about Johnny Depp.
The whole thing started on Tuesday, when 24-year-old lab technician Lindsey B tagged Rowling in the following tweet:
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Depp's inclusion in the Fantastic Beasts franchise has been a subject of controversy ever since the news about his casting broke last November, a couple of weeks before the first film was due to be released.
In May 2016, Johnny Depp was accused of being physically abusive by his then-wife Amber Heard. Heard claimed in court that Depp bruised her eye after throwing a cellphone at her, and was granted a temporary restraining order against him.
At the time, the news that he'd be appearing in Beasts drew criticism from fans. A couple of weeks ago, following the release of the first cast photo for Fantastic Beasts 2 (which included Depp once again as Grindelwald), that criticism has re-ignited.
"[Like] a lot of fans I do not agree with Depp playing Grindelwald," Lindsey told Mashable.
"Like I said in my tweet he abused Amber but because he's famous his career won't be affected by his actions. To me this is wrong and that's why I'm against Johnny Depp playing a role in Fantastic Beasts."
Lindsey said she decided to speak up on Twitter after reading director David Yates' recent defence of Depp.
The next morning, she said, she noticed J.K. Rowling had blocked her.
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At the time of writing, Lindsey's tweet about being blocked has been shared over 44,000 times.
Lindsey said she didn't know how to feel about the tweet going viral.
"I never expected this and the reactions to the tweet have been very diverse," she explained. "Some people congratulate me on being blocked, some tell me how sorry they are this happened to me and of course, there's also a bit of hatred."
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Lindsey told Mashable she was "quite shocked but mostly disappointed" by Rowling's decision to block her.
"I had admired her for so long so to find out I was blocked for stating my opinion was very disappointing," she said.
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Mashable contacted J.K. Rowling's representatives, but were told the author was not available for comment.
