Rowling’s Feud Continues, as the Author Criticizes Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson

J.K. Rowling is an author who has made several generations happy with her Harry Potter series, which was later adapted into a successful movie series. A TV series adaptation is on the way, but while the series itself is still one of the most beloved ones, the author has been a topic of debate for several years now due to her views on the transgender community and their issues. Recently, the feud deepened as Rowling attacked Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson, the two stars of the movie series because they had criticized her in their comments.

In short, Rowling has been quite open about her opposition to the transgender movement, criticizing some of its postulates as degrading toward actual women. While the author has been criticized for her opinions, she remains firm in stating that she is simply defending basic women’s rights from potential abuse. This resulted in many calling for the boycott of her works (including the unsuccessful boycott of the Hogwarts Legacy game, which ultimately resulted in the game becoming even more successful), while the actors who played in the Harry Potter movies, generally, criticized Rowling.

Not all of them were outspoken, but Rupert Grint, Evanny Lynch, and Harry Melling all expressed their support for the transgender community, while Ralph Fiennes was the only one who defended Rowling from the attacks, calling them appalling while explaining that she was not being a bigot, but rather a defender of women’s rights. Recently, though, Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson also attacked Rowling,

In an essay published on The Trevor Project, which you can read here in full, Radcliffe stated the following:

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.

(…)

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’t entirely lose what was valuable in these stories to you. If these books taught you that love is the strongest force in the universe, capable of overcoming anything; if they taught you that strength is found in diversity, and that dogmatic ideas of pureness lead to the oppression of vulnerable groups; if you believe that a particular character is trans, nonbinary, or gender fluid, or that they are gay or bisexual; if you found anything in these stories that resonated with you and helped you at any time in your life — then that is between you and the book that you read, and it is sacred. And in my opinion nobody can touch that. It means to you what it means to you and I hope that these comments will not taint that too much.

Source: The Trevor Project

And while Radcliffe’s comments are directly directed towards J.K. Rowling, Emma Watson has been less direct, stating – to her trans fans – that “so many other people around the world see you, respect you and love you for who you are.”

While Rowling did not publish a direct reply to this, she was asked by Twitter user Adam Harris whether she would forgive Radcliffe and Watson for their comments after their apology, which is imminent according to Harris, to which Rowling replied:

“Not safe, I’m afraid. 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 for traumatised detransitioners and vulnerable women reliant on single sex spaces.”

Source: Twitter

If you’re interested, here is the full discussion for you to enjoy:

We don’t actually know how or when this is going to end, but it seems that Rowling is not giving up on her opinions, which probably means that more controversies will appear in the future. HBO is working on a Harry Potter television series that is set to premiere in 2026, and it remains to be seen how all of this will influence the production. In any case, be sure to keep following us for all the updates!

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