Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe responds to ‘transphobic’ J.K. Rowling tweets

Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe responds to ‘transphobic’ J.K. Rowling tweets

06/09/2020

Actor Daniel Radcliffe posted a lengthy response on Monday to a number of tweets sent by author J.K. Rowling over the weekend, which have led to a storm of criticism and accusations that the “Harry Potter” writer is transphobic.

In an essay posted to the website The Trevor Project, Radcliffe wrote that he was “compelled” to weigh in on the controversy because his acting career was launched by his role in the “Harry Potter” films.

“Transgender women are women,” Radcliffe wrote in the essay.

“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,” he added, referring to Rowling by her first name.

The 30-year-old actor added that some media outlets will “want to paint this as in-fighting between J.K. Rowling and myself, but that is really not what this is about, nor is it what’s important right now.”

He also addressed Harry Potter fans directly, saying he is “deeply sorry for the pain these comments have caused you.”

“If these books taught you that love is the strongest force in the universe, capable of overcoming anything; … 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,” he wrote.

“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,” he added.

Rowling touched off the controversy Saturday when she tweeted a link to a Devex opinion article headlined “Creating a more equal post-COVID-19 world for people who menstruate.”

“‘People who menstruate.’ I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?” she wrote in the tweet.

Social media users blasted the message, arguing that transgender men and non-binary people also menstruate, while some assigned female at birth do not menstruate due to medical reasons.

Rowling later posted that she had been “empathetic to trans people for decades,” but doubled down on her stance, adding, “I’d march with you if you were discriminated against on the basis of being trans.”

“At the same time, my life has been shaped by being female. I do not believe it’s hateful to say so.”

In December, Rowling also faced backlash for supporting a researcher who said biological sex can’t be changed.

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