Once again, renowned author J.K. Rowling has sparked controversy by criticizing original Harry Potter stars Emma Watson and Daniel Radcliffe.
In a recent series of tweets on Twitter (previously X), Rowling, who has faced backlash for her past anti-transgender remarks, shared an independent evaluation about medical transitioning in children. One of the Twitter users responded to Rowling’s tweets, saying, “Just waiting for Dan and Emma to give you a very public apology… safe in the knowledge that you will forgive them.” The author replied to the user, stating, “Not safe, I’m afraid.” She also criticized celebrities who supported actions that promoted the transition of minors.
“Only waiting for Dan and Emma to give you a very public apology… safe in the knowledge that you will forgive them…” — Adam Harris#FarRightHooligan (@StAustellAdam) April 10, 2024
“Celebrities who cozied up to a movement that aims to diminish women’s hard-won privileges and who used their platforms to support the transition of minors should reserve their apologies for traumatized detransitioners and vulnerable women who rely on single-sex spaces,” Rowling wrote.
J.K. Rowling’s thesis, which attacked transgender rights, sparked public discussion in June 2020. A part of her writing reads, “I refuse to bow down to a motion that I believe is trying to weaken ‘woman’ as a social and biological class and providing cover to predators like some before it.”
Daniel Radcliffe, famous for his portrayal of Harry Potter in the Harry Potter series, took a strong position in support of transgender rights. In an essay for the Trevor Project, he affirmed, “Transgender women are women.”
Emma Watson, who played Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter films, voiced solidarity with transgender individuals, without mentioning Rowling’s name. She argued on Twitter that trans people are entitled to live their lives without being constantly questioned or told they aren’t who they say they are.
“I want my transgender followers to know that I and many others around the world respect and admire you for who you are.” — Emma Watson (@EmmaWatson) June 10, 2020
In a separate tweet, she wrote, “I want my transgender followers to know that I and so many others around the world respect and love you for who you are.”
JK Rowling first sparked controversy in 2017 with a controversial tweet that disparaged transgender rights. She also received criticism for supporting Maya Forstater, who lost her job because she claimed that no one can change their biological sex in a video.
