Daniel Radcliffe saddened by JK Rowling's anti-transgender remarks, says he will 'support the rights' of LGBTQ people
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Daniel Radcliffe is deeply disappointed by 'Harry Potter' author JK Rowling's continued anti-transgender comments as well as her ongoing support for others with transphobic views. The 34-year-old, who earned a Tony Award nomination on April 30, said in an interview with The Atlantic that he has cut off all sorts of communications with Rowling since the past few years.
Radcliffe was the main protagonist in all eight 'Harry Potter' films, based on the 58-year-old's bestselling novels, from 2001 to 2011.
Daniel Radcliffe says JK Rowling's transphobic remarks make him extremely sad
"It makes me really sad, ultimately, because I do look at the person that I met, the times that we met, and the books that she wrote and the world that she created, and all of that is to me so deeply empathic," Radcliffe said of Rowling and her controversial comments about gender.
"Jo, obviously 'Harry Potter' would not have happened without her, so nothing in my life would have probably happened the way it is without that person," he added. "But that doesn’t mean that you owe the things you truly believe to someone else for your entire life," he further said.
Daniel Radcliffe reacted to JK Rowling's recent social media post
Radcliffe also responded to Rowling's recent writing on social media that he and his co-stars Emma Watson and Rupert Grint can "save their apologies" and she wouldn't forgive them for their differing points of view. Radcliffe told the outlet, "I will continue to support the rights of all LGBTQ people, and have no further comment than that."
Radcliffe was among the first 'Harry Potter' cast members to speak out against Rowling's anti-transgender remarks back in June 2020. At the time, Radcliffe wrote in an essay for the Trevor Project that "transgender women are women."
At that time, JK Rowling ignited public discourse as she wrote an essay criticizing transgender rights. "I refuse to bow down to a movement that I believe is doing demonstrable harm in seeking to erode 'woman' as a political and biological class and offering cover to predators like few before it," a section of her essay read.
Emma Watson, who played Hermione Granger in 'Harry Potter' films, also voiced solidarity with transgender individuals, without taking Rowling's name. On X, she asserted, "Trans people are who they say they are and deserve to live their lives without being constantly questioned or told they aren’t who they say they are."
"I want my trans followers to know that I and so many other people around the world see you, respect you and love you for who you are," she added in another post.
Trans people are who they say they are and deserve to live their lives without being constantly questioned or told they aren’t who they say they are.
— Emma Watson (@EmmaWatson) June 10, 2020
Daniel Radcliffe opens up on why he decided to address JK Rowling's comments
The actor told The Atlantic in the new interview why he felt compelled to address Rowling's comments in 2020.
"I’d worked with the Trevor Project for 12 years and it would have seemed like, I don’t know, immense cowardice to me to not say something," he said, adding "I wanted to try and help people that had been negatively affected by the comments. And to say that if those are Jo’s views, then they are not the views of everybody associated with the Potter franchise."
