NEED TO KNOW
\nIn 2020, Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling came under fire for a series of controversial statements regarding transgender womenIn the aftermath, film stars Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint all spoke out opposing her viewsOn Sept. 29, Rowling called Watson “ignorant” on X after the actress said she wouldn’t “cancel” the author<\/p>\n
The Harry Potter <\/a>cast<\/a> has experienced some strained dynamics in recent years in the wake of J.K. Rowling<\/a>‘s controversial comments about transgender women.\n<\/p>\n Rowling wrote seven fantasy novels in the popular series, which was brought to the big screen with the release of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer\u2019s Stone in 2001. The movie followed Daniel Radcliffe<\/a> as the titular character, chronicling his life as a young wizard who studies at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry alongside his friends, Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint<\/a>) and Hermione Granger (Emma Watson<\/a>).\n<\/p>\n Following the film’s release, Harry Potter grew into a global phenomenon, generating billions in box office revenue and turning its young actors into household names. In recent years, however, the franchise has faced public backlash following Rowling’s anti-transgender comments<\/a> and\u00a0support for others<\/a>\u00a0with anti-transgender views beginning in 2020.\n<\/p>\n Since then, much of the cast has spoken out about Rowling’s comments, some coming to her defense and others opposing her views, while the author herself has spoken out about certain stars. Most recently, Rowling called out Watson in a Sept. 29 post on X<\/a>, claiming “she’s ignorant of how ignorant she is<\/a>” after the actress said she could never “cancel<\/a>” the author during a recent interview.<\/p>\n From Rowling’s initial comments to what the cast has said in response, here’s everything to know about J.K. Rowling’s feud with the Harry Potter cast.\n<\/p>\n Rowling was criticized for supporting anti-transgender sentiments in 2020 <\/p>\n J. K. Rowling at the Guinness Six Nations match on Feb. 24, 2024, in Edinburgh.<\/p>\n Andrew Milligan\/PA Images via Getty<\/p>\n In June 2020, Rowling came under fire when she appeared to support anti-transgender remarks in a series of posts on X, seemingly mocking an article titled \u201cOpinion: Creating a more equal post-COVID-19 world for people who menstruate.\u201d\n<\/p>\n “‘People who menstruate.’ I\u2019m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?\u201c Rowling\u00a0wrote on X<\/a>.<\/p>\n The author denied that her views on feminism are transphobic after several people called her out in the comments, but days later, she doubled down on her controversial standpoints in a lengthy essay on her website.\n<\/p>\n “I refuse to bow down<\/a> to a movement that I believe is doing demonstrable harm in seeking to erode \u2018woman\u2019 as a political and biological class and offering cover to predators like few before it,” she wrote.\n<\/p>\n “So I want trans women to be safe. At the same time, I do not want to make natal girls and women less safe,” she continued, stating that she is a survivor of sexual assault and domestic abuse. “When you throw open the doors of bathrooms and changing rooms to any man who believes or feels he\u2019s a woman…then you open the door to any and all men who wish to come inside.”\n<\/p>\n Since then, Rowling has continued to deny that her views are anti-transgender and has described them as pro-feminist, according to her website<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n Radcliffe, Watson and Grint publicly opposed Rowling’s stance <\/p>\n Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, J.K. Rowling and Rupert Grint attend the premiere of ‘Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows’ on Nov. 11, 2010, in London.<\/p>\n Jon Furniss\/WireImage<\/p>\n Following her divisive essay, Harry Potter’s leading trio \u2014 Radcliffe, Watson and Grint \u2014 all spoke out in support of trans women.\n<\/p>\n In a\u00a0short essay<\/a>\u00a0for the\u00a0Trevor Project\u00a0published in June 2020, Radcliffe recognized that his statement risked interpretation of “in-fighting” between him and Rowling, though he emphasized that it isn’t “what’s important right now.”\n<\/p>\n “While Jo is unquestionably responsible for the course my life has taken, as someone who has been honored to work with and continues to contribute to The Trevor Project for the last decade, and just as a human being, I feel compelled to say something<\/a> at this moment,” he wrote. “Transgender women are women. Any statement to the contrary erases the identity and dignity of transgender people and goes against all advice given by professional health care associations who have far more expertise on this subject matter than either Jo or I.”\n<\/p>\n He then addressed the Harry Potter fans: “To all the people who now feel that their experience of the books has been tarnished or diminished, I am deeply sorry for the pain these comments have caused you. I really hope that you don\u2019t entirely lose what was valuable in these stories to you.”<\/p>\n Watson spoke out in a post on X<\/a>, writing, “Trans people are who they say they are and deserve to live their lives without being constantly questioned or told they aren\u2019t who they say they are.”<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Grint issued a statement, saying, “I firmly stand with the trans community<\/a> and echo the sentiments expressed by many of my peers. Trans women are women. Trans men are men. We should all be entitled to live with love and without judgment,” per the U.K.’s The Sunday Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n Some Harry Potter stars spoke out against the internet’s response to Rowling’s claims <\/p>\n J.K. Rowling attends the ‘Finding The Way Home’ premiere on Dec. 11, 2019, in New York City.<\/p>\n Dia Dipasupil\/Getty<\/p>\n While several of the Harry Potter cast voiced support for trans rights, others spoke out against the internet’s response to Rowling’s claims.\n<\/p>\n Actor Robbie Coltrane<\/a>, who played Rubeus Hagrid in all eight Harry Potter films before his 2022 death<\/a>, said in a September 2020 interview with Radio Times that he didn’t think Rowling’s comments were “offensive<\/a>.”\n<\/p>\n “I don’t know why but there’s a whole Twitter generation of people who hang around waiting to be offended. They wouldn’t have won the war, would they?” he said, per The Independent<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n In March 2021, Ralph Fiennes<\/a>, who portrayed Lord Voldemort, spoke to the U.K.’s The Telegraph<\/a> about the backlash Rowling was facing, stating he believed the “level of hatred<\/a>” aimed at the author was uncalled for.\n<\/p>\n “I can’t understand the vitriol directed at her. I can understand the heat of an argument, but I find this age of accusation and the need to condemn irrational,” Fiennes said. “I find the level of hatred that people express about views that differ from theirs, and the violence of language towards others, disturbing.”<\/p>\n Rowling told Radcliffe and Watson to \u201csave their apologies\u201d <\/p>\n Rupert Grint, J.K. Rowling, Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson attend the premiere of ‘Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone’ on Nov. 4, 2001, in London.<\/p>\n Gareth Davies\/Getty<\/p>\n In April 2024, Rowling posted<\/a> about an independent review<\/a> “of the medical evidence for\u00a0transitioning children.”\n<\/p>\n “Just waiting for Dan and Emma to give you a very public apology … safe in the knowledge that you will forgive them,” one follower responded to her on X, though neither Radcliffe nor Watson had spoken out about their views on medical transitioning of children.\n<\/p>\n In response<\/a>, Rowling wrote that it was “not safe.”\n<\/p>\n “Celebs who cosied up to a movement intent on eroding women’s hard-won rights and who used their platforms to cheer on the transitioning of minors can save their apologies<\/a> for traumatised detransitioners and vulnerable women reliant on single sex spaces,” she wrote.<\/p>\n Radcliffe said Rowling\u2019s anti-transgender stance made him \u201creally sad\u201d <\/p>\n Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Daniel Radcliffe and J.K. Rowling attend the ‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince’ premiere on July 7, 2009, in London.<\/p>\n Jon Furniss\/WireImage<\/p>\n In an interview with The Atlantic<\/a> in late April 2024, Radcliffe addressed Rowling’s views, expressing hope that readers\u2019 experiences with the\u00a0Harry Potter\u00a0books wouldn’t be tarnished after the author’s comments.\n<\/p>\n He also explained why he chose to speak out against Rowling, saying, “I\u2019d worked with the Trevor Project for 12 years and it would have seemed like, I don\u2019t know, immense cowardice to me to not say something.”\n<\/p>\n “I wanted to try and help people that had been negatively affected by the comments,” the actor continued. “And to say that if those are Jo\u2019s views, then they are not the views of everybody associated with the\u00a0Potter\u00a0franchise.”\n<\/p>\n Per the outlet, Radcliffe had no direct contact with Rowling during the time in which she was speaking out about her anti-transgender views, which ultimately made him “really sad<\/a>.”\n<\/p>\n “Because I do look at the person that I met, the times that we met, and the books that she wrote, and the world that she created, and all of that is to me so deeply empathic,” he added.<\/p>\n Watson said she would continue to \u201ctreasure\u201d Rowling <\/p>\n J.K. Rowling and Emma Watson attend the Lumos fundraising event on Nov. 9, 2013, in London.<\/p>\n David M. Benett\/Getty<\/p>\n