Joan Rowling made an ambiguous post that was perceived as criticism of the "Harry Potter" actors
Kyiv • UNN
Joan Rowling made a post that was criticized as an attack against the "Harry Potter" actors who supported the transgender community. Their relationship deteriorated after the actors supported transgender people in 2020.
British writer, author of the Harry Potter book series, J.K. Rowling, made an ambiguous post on social media that sparked a new wave of discussions about her strained relationship with Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint. This is reported by Independent, writes UNN.
Details
On Tuesday, March 18, Rowling responded to a post on social network X: "Which actor/actress instantly ruins a movie for you?" with: "Guess three times. Sorry, but it was magical".
According to media reports, although the author added smiling face emoticons to emphasize the humor, the post was widely interpreted as a hint at the main actors of the "Harry Potter" film saga, who distanced themselves from Rowling in 2020 after her statements about transgender people. Radcliffe, Watson, and Grint then publicly supported the transgender community, which led to a deterioration in their relationship with the writer.
Rowling first publicly expressed her position on transgender women in December 2019, when the writer expressed support for researcher Maya Forstater, who lost her job due to controversial statements about transgenderism. After that, Rowling published an essay in which she expressed her position on gender identity, which caused a wave of criticism.
In this essay, she listed five reasons why we should "worry about the new trans activism," which was condemned by Radcliffe and Watson, who stated, "I want my trans followers to know that I and many other people around the world see you, respect you, and love you for who you are."
Radcliffe was the first of the three main characters of "Harry Potter" to speak out against Rowling's views on transgender identity.
"Transgender women are women," he said in a 2020 statement published by The Trevor Project, a suicide prevention charity for young LGBTQ+ people. He acknowledged that Rowling was "undoubtedly responsible for the way my life has turned out," but said he "felt compelled to say something at this moment".
In 2024, the actor admitted that he had not spoken to the author for many years.
"Ultimately, it makes me very sad," he said, "because I look at the person I met, the times we met, the books she wrote, the world she created, and it all fills me with deep sympathy."
His 2020 statement was supported by Grint and Watson
The actress who played Hermione, Emma Watson, also spoke out about the uproar at the 2022 BAFTA Awards. That year's host, Rebel Wilson, introduced the actress on stage, stating, "Here to present the next award is Emma Watson. She calls herself a feminist, but we all know she's a witch".
When Watson took the stage, she declared, "I'm here for all the witches!", which many took as a mockery of Rowling.
In April 2024, after the publication of the Cass Report, Rowling stated that she would not forgive the actors, saying that they could "save their apologies".
HBO will shoot a new series about Harry Potter: filming starts in 202507.12.24, 12:53 • 111648 views
