It’s been a big week for Harry Potter author JK Rowling. The legal campaign she donated £70,000 of her billion-pound fortune to has resulted in a UK Supreme Court ruling on the technicality of what a “women” is under the equalities law. It may have serious implications for how trans women access bathrooms, refuges, and hospital wards, amongst others.
Oh, and some of the cast for the HBO Harry Potter TV show has been announced. John Lithgow as Albus Dumbledore, Janet McTeer as Professor Minerva McGonagall, Nick Frost as Rubeus Hagrid, Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape, Paul Whitehouse as Argus Filch, and Luke Thallon as Quirinus Quirrell.
Actors are not duty bound to care about politics or social justice or human rights, but each one of them has now had their careers linked to a franchise whose legacy is connected to a creator who has divisive views
Rowling denies making transphobic statement. But she has been explicit that she believes that “there are no trans kids”, misgenders trans broadcaster India Willoughby, and referred to a trans woman as a “large, trans-identified natal male”. Debating the rights of trans women has become one of the main character of her social media presence.
Even if the cast don’t share her views, it is going to be a long time filming the 10-season arc promised by HBO, and a lot of interviews and press junkets where the question of their stance on LGBTQ+ issues will linger like a gone-off potion.
The backlash has already begun. Frost has disabled his Instagram comments after confirming his role in the show. It’s a particularly baffling choice for Essiedu, whose break out role in I May Destroy You won him plaudits for his portrayal of a queer femme person.
Interestingly, the golden trio — Harry, Ron and Hermione — are yet to be cast. Perhaps it would be a career risk for a young actor to associate themselves with the Harry Potter machine at this juncture.
For many fans, Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson were those characters. Each was a young child when they were cast back in 2001. They have since gone on to have wildly divergent careers, but all three have been outspoken in their support of trans rights.
In 2020, when Rowling blogged about her views on trans rights, the trio made their own statements in response.
“Transgender women are women,” said Radcliffe. “Any statement to the contrary erases the identity and dignity of transgender people.”
Watson stated: “Trans people are who they say they are and deserve to live their lives without being constantly questioned.”
Grint also made a statement. "I firmly stand with the trans community," he said. "Trans women are women. Trans men are men. We should all be entitled to live with love and without judgment."
JK Rowling does not seem to have taken this well. Last month she appeared to make a dig at the actors, responding to a prompt on X about actors that “instantly ruin the movie for you” with the comment “three guesses”.
With a fresh cast and marketing material, the TV series could replace how the public sees Rowling’s biggest characters.
This could be part of the appeal for the executive producer, but it also stands as a warning to actors who publicly rebuke her views.
