JK Rowling has upset a lot of people with her views on transgender women
Tom Felton has become the latest Harry Potter star to comment on the controversy surrounding JK Rowling.
Many Harry Potter fans have been left feeling aggrieved with the author of late in the wake of her views on transgender women.
Rowling really ruffled people’s feathers after she celebrated the UK Supreme Court’s ruling that transgender women were not legally women.
TikToker films intense allergic reaction
But Rowling’s feelings on trans women long predates this recent development after she reportedly liked a tweet in 2018 that described them as ‘men in dresses’.
In the wake of the backlash, many Harry Potter stars have spoken out in support on the trans community — including Ron Weasley actor, Rupert Grint, as well as Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson.
He said in a 2020 statement: “I firmly stand with the trans community and echo the sentiments expressed by many of my peers. Trans women are women. Trans men are men.”
JK Rowling celebrated the Supreme Court ruling with a cigar and drink (@jk_rowling/Twitter)
Now Tom Felton, who is best known for playing Draco Malfoy in the popular wizarding world series, has weighed in.
Speaking to Variety, the actor was asked about how the controversy on Twitter about Rowling impacts him and his work.
“I’m not really that attuned to it,” Felton replied. “[…] I have not seen anything bring the world together more than Potter. She’s responsible for that, so I’m incredibly grateful.”
READ MORE:
JK ROWLING REVEALS WHY SHE’LL NEVER FORGIVE EMMA WATSON AND DANIEL RADCLIFFE
Felton’s comments come after it was recently revealed that he’s reprising his role of Draco Malfoy on Broadway at the Lyric Theatre in New York later this year for the Harry Potter And The Cursed Child play.
The production said he was the ‘first actor from the films to reprise’ their role on stage, and this will be Felton’s Broadway debut.
He said: “Being a part of the Harry Potter films has been one of the greatest honours of my life. Joining this production will be a full-circle moment for me, because when I begin performances in Cursed Child this fall, I’ll also be the exact age Draco is in the play.
“It’s surreal to be stepping back into his shoes – and of course his iconic platinum blond hair – and I am thrilled to be able to see his story through and to share it with the greatest fan community in the world.
“I look forward to joining this incredible company and being a part of the Broadway community.”
He will begin his run in Harry Potter And The Cursed Child on November 11 for a limited 19 weeks.Featured Image Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures
Topics: JK Rowling, Harry Potter, Transgender, LGBTQ, Celebrity, News
Published 18:29 19 Mar 2025 GMT
JK Rowling seemingly reignites feud with Harry Potter stars after claim ‘she’ll never forgive Emma Watson and Daniel Radcliffe’
The Harry Potter author appeared to make reference to her former co-workers after they distanced themselves from her controversial views
Warning: This article contains discussion of discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community which some readers may find distressing
JK Rowling has appeared to take a new swipe at the stars of her Harry Potter movies months after she claimed she would ‘never forgive’ Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson.
Despite working together for years on end while bringing her Harry Potter books to life, actors Radcliffe, Watson and Rupert Grint have since distanced themselves from Rowling.
The actors have made clear that they do not agree with some of the author’s controversial opinions surrounding the LGBTQ+ community, which include one comment from Rowling suggesting she would rather go to prison than refer to a transgender person by their prefered pronouns.
JK Rowling has sparked widespread backlash with her controversial comments (Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images)
Writing on Twitter in 2023, she said: “I’ll happily do two years if the alternative is compelled speech and forced denial of the reality and importance of sex.”
Amid the controversy, Radcliffe issued an apology to the trans community for ‘the pain’ caused by Rowling’s comments, while Watson showed solidarity with the trans community as she assured them that ‘so many other people around the world see you, respect you and love you for who you are’.
The differing opinions between the actors and the author prompted Rowling to lash out at her former co-workers after one Twitter user said they were ‘waiting for Dan and Emma to give [her] a very public apology … safe in the knowledge that [she] will forgive them’.
Watson and Radcliffe have made clear they disagree with Rowling’s views (Dave M. Benett/Getty Images)
However, Rowling said the stars were ‘not safe’ in that knowledge, saying: “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.”
Now, Rowling appears to have hinted at her disapproval of not only Watson and Radcliffe, but also Grint as she shared a new tweet on March 17.
The author made her comment in response to a post which reads: “What actor/actress instantly ruins a movie for you?”
In response, Rowling wrote: “Three guesses. Sorry, but that was irresistible.”
Rowling hinted that the three Harry Potter stars now ‘ruin’ movies for her (Twitter/@jk_rowling)
Given that Radcliffe, Watson and Grint were very much a major trio in Rowling’s most popular works, it’s not hard to guess who she was refering to.
Rowling’s comment sparked mixed responses from her followers, with some showing support for her while others took the actors’ side.
One person wrote: “Three guesses? 1. The same people who made millions off your work, then turned on you when it was ‘cool’.”
However, another hit back: “They ruined the movies for you, but you ruined everything else for everyone else, at least for those with beating hearts.”
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact the LGBT national hotline at 888-843-4564, available Monday to Friday 4pm-12am ET and 12pm-5pm ET on Saturdays.Featured Image Credit: Jon Furniss via Getty Images
Topics: JK Rowling, Harry Potter, LGBTQ, Emma Watson, Daniel Radcliffe, Viral
Updated 14:15 5 May 2025 GMT+1Published 14:14 5 May 2025 GMT+1
J.K. Rowling hits back at Harry Potter stars signing pro-trans letter amid Emma Watson and Daniel Radcliffe feud
The author, who also publishes under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith, has been outspoken with her stance on transgender people
Warning: This article contains discussion of discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community some readers may find distressing
Author J. K. Rowling has issued a scathing statement after three Harry Potter stars signed an open pro-transgender letter following a recent ruling by the UK Supreme Court.
On April 16, judges stated that the legal definition of a woman was based on biological sex.
The landmark ruling outlined that a person who was not born as a biological female could not obtain the legal protections the Act affords to women by changing their gender with a Gender Recognition Certificate.
As per BBC, the Act however, still provides transgender people with protection against discrimination, with Dr Michael Foran, a lecturer in public law at Glasgow University, explaining: “They are protected under our equality law.”
J.K. Rowling has been outspoken regarding her LGBTQ+ views (X/@jk_rowling)
Following the UK Supreme Court’s bombshell decision, Harry Potter writer Joanne Kathleen Rowling, 59, known best by her pen name J. K. Rowling, celebrated the ruling.
She called it the TERF version of VE Day on social media and also wrote: “Women have fought (and are still fighting) the single biggest land grab on their rights in my lifetime.
“Some have sacrificed their livelihoods and safety to combat a pernicious ideology that has infiltrated elite institutions, including government.”
In the days that followed, celebrities came out in their droves to sign a pro-transgender open letter.
Eddie Redmayne, 43, who played Newt Scamander in the Fantastic Beasts films, Katie Leung, 37, best known for portraying Cho Chang in the Harry Potter flicks and Paapa Essiedu, 34, set to star as Severus Snape in the magical HBO reboot, were among the famous names to sign the script.
On Saturday (May 3), Rowling called out the ‘back-stabbing colleagues’ who decided to sign the letter in an essay posted to social media.
“In light of recent open letters from academia and the arts criticising the UK’s Supreme Court ruling on sex-based rights, it’s possibly worth remembering that nobody sane believes, or has ever believed, that humans can change sex, or that binary sex isn’t a material fact,” the author wrote.
Eddie Redmayne is just one of Rowling’s colleagues to sign an open pro-trans letter (Warner Bros.)
“These letters do nothing but remind us of what we know only too well: that pretending to believe these things has become an elitist badge of virtue.”
She continued to argue that ‘signatories of these sorts of letters are motivated by fear’.
“Fear for their careers, of course, but also fear of their co-religionists, who include angry, narcissistic men who threaten and sometimes enact violence on non-believers; back-stabbing colleagues ever ready to report wrongthink; the online shamers and doxxers and rape threateners, and, of course, the influential zealots in the upper echelons of liberal professions.”
In a further update, Rowling has made her stance on Eddiedu signing the open letter crystal clear.
On Monday (May 5), she shared a recent headline from the Scottish Daily Express: “JK Rowling won’t have new Harry Potter TV star sacked despite defiance.”
In response, the mother-of-three typed: “I don’t have the power to sack an actor from the series and I wouldn’t exercise it if I did,” she typed on Twitter. “I don’t believe in taking away people’s jobs or livelihoods because they hold legally protected beliefs that differ from mine.”
Rowling’s latest comments come after she famously blasted Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson for opposing her transgender views.
Radcliffe, 35, who portrayed Harry Potter in all eight of the original Warner Bros. films and Watson, 35, who starred as Hermione, have both pledged their support to the transgender community in the past.
Their subsequent comments came after Rowling posted in 2023 that she would ‘happily’ do jail time rather than refer to someone by their preferred pronouns.
This comment led Radcliffe to issue an apology to the trans community for the ‘pain’ the comments caused, while Watson assured fans there were: “So many other people around the world see you, respect you and love you for who you are.”
Rowling addressed the pair’s comments after she saw a message that read: “Waiting for Dan and Emma to give [her] a very public apology … safe in the knowledge that [she] will forgive them.”
The author seemingly reignited her feud with Harry Potter stars earlier this year (X/@jk_rowling)
“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,” she replied in 2024.
On March 17, Rowling seemingly reignited her feud with Radcliffe and Watson and also possibly took aim at Ron Weasley actor Rupert Grint, 36.
In response to a post which read: “What actor/actress instantly ruins a movie for you?”, the star replied: “Three guesses. Sorry, but that was irresistible.”
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact the LGBT national hotline at 888-843-4564, available Monday to Friday 4pm-12am ET and 12pm-5pm ET on Saturdays.Featured Image Credit: Jon Furniss via Getty Images
Topics: JK Rowling, Harry Potter, Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, HBO, Film and TV, Transgender, Health, Celebrity
Published 18:42 11 Dec 2024 GMT
JK Rowling reveals why she’ll never forgive Emma Watson and Daniel Radcliffe
JK Rowling has been criticised for her comments about the trans community in the past
JK Rowling once suggested that she’ll never forgive Emma Watson and Daniel Radcliffe after showing their support for trans rights.
The Harry Potter creator has certainly come under the spotlight in recent years after she made controversial comments about the trans community back in June 2020, during the heart of the Covid pandemic.
Rowling appeared to make light of the efforts to be inclusive to the trans community as she shared a link to an article titled: “Opinion: Creating a more equal post-COVID-19 world for people who menstruate.”
On top of that, the author commented: “‘People who menstruate’. I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?”
JK Rowling has revealed why she’ll never forgive Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson (Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images)
Rowling was met with much backlash amid the comments, with Harry Potter stars Watson and Radcliffe offering their support to the trans community.
Radcliffe issued an apology for ‘the pain’ Rowling’s comments had caused and wrote an essay for LGBTQ+ organization, The Trevor Project.
Watson, on the other hand, told her trans followers that she and ‘so many other people around the world see you, respect you and love you for who you are’.
While many would think Rowling would try and steer away from such comments, she caused more chaos in the trans community earlier this year.
The actor shared a since-deleted tweet about the Cass Review, which examines gender services for young people in the UK, in particular the use of puberty blockers.
Rowling called paediatrician Dr Hilary Cass’ report ‘the most robust review of the medical evidence for transitioning children that’s ever been conducted’.
The author claimed the findings showed ‘kids have been irreversibly harmed’, adding: “Thousands are complicit, not just medics, but the celebrity mouthpieces, unquestioning media and cynical corporations.”
Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson have previously spoken in support of the trans community (Dave M. Benett/Getty Images)
In response to her post, one Twitter user told Rowling: “Just waiting for Dan and Emma to give you a very public apology … safe in the knowledge that you will forgive them …”
However, Rowling responded to say the two actors she worked with for so many years were not ‘safe’ in that knowledge.
“Not safe, I’m afraid,” she wrote. “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.”
Rowling has previously made clear she would not take back her decision to misgender transgender people, saying she would not ‘delete posts calling a man a man’.
She also suggested she would ‘happily’ spend time in prison rather than referring to a transgender person by their preferred pronouns, saying: “I’ll happily do two years if the alternative is compelled speech and forced denial of the reality and importance of sex.”
UNILAD previously reached out to Rowling, Radcliffe and Watson’s representatives for comment.Featured Image Credit: Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images / Anthony Harvey/Getty Images
Topics: JK Rowling, Harry Potter, Emma Watson, Daniel Radcliffe, LGBTQ
Updated 10:18 25 Apr 2025 GMT+1Published 10:14 25 Apr 2025 GMT+1
Pedro Pascal has savage response to JK Rowling after she reacts to court ruling on what legally defines a woman
The UK Supreme Court recently made a controversial ruling on what legally defines a woman
Pedro Pascal has made his feelings about JK Rowling very clear.
If you’ve been keeping an eye on what celebrities are wearing at the moment, you might have spotted some wearing a t-shirt with the slogan ‘Protect The Dolls’.
The tee was designed by Connor Ives for people to wear in solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community – transgender women in particular.
Since its release, famous faces like Troye Sivan, Tate McRae, and Tilda Swinton have been sporting the statement fashion piece. Pascal has also been seen wearing it on numerous occasions, most recently at a Thunderbolts screening in London earlier this week.
But someone who won’t be seen wearing the t-shirt is Harry Potter author Rowling, who recently celebrated the UK Supreme Court’s decision on what legally defines a woman.
Judges in the UK’s highest court said that the ‘concept of sex is binary’ and that a person with a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC) in the female gender ‘does not come within the definition of a woman’, said the BBC.
In simpler terms, the court ruled that only women born as such meet the legal definition of a woman.
The ruling has caused a lot of controversy, but Rowling has applauded the news and said that the decision has protected ‘the rights of women and girls across the UK’.
Elsewhere, Rowling shared a snap on her Twitter page of her smoking a cigar with a drink. She wrote alongside the photo: “I love it when a plan comes together. #SupremeCourt #WomensRights.”
I love it when a plan comes together. #SupremeCourt #WomensRights
Writer and activist Tariq Ra’ouf later posted a video blasting Rowling for her reaction and said it was some ‘Voldemort villain s**t’.
And Pascal agreed and made his feelings clear in the comment section of Ra’ouf’s video.
The Last of Us actor said: “Awful disgusting S**T is exactly right. Heinous LOSER behavior.”
Other stars to have spoken out against Rowling and the Supreme Court’s ruling include Bridgerton favorite Nicola Coughlan.
Pedro Pascal seen wearing a ‘Protect The Dolls’ t-shirt (Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images for The Walt Disney Company Limited)
Sharing an article titled ‘This Is a New Low for J.K. Rowling’, Coughlan penned on her Instagram Story: “Keep your new Harry Potter, lads. Wouldn’t touch it with a 10-foot pole.”
Meanwhile Saturday Night Live‘s Bowen Yang shared a photo of himself flipping off the camera and wrote ‘absolute f**k u to jk rowling’ alongside a trans pride flag emoji.
Even the original Harry Potter cast themselves have spoken out previously about Rowling’s views and condemned them. In 2020, Daniel Radcliffe said in a statement: “Transgender women are women.”Featured Image Credit: Joe Maher/Getty
Topics: Pedro Pascal, JK Rowling, Transgender, LGBTQ, UK News, Celebrity
