J.K. Rowling has long since put a dark cloud over her beloved Harry Potter franchise by consistently sharing unsolicited transphobic opinions, but Harry Potter himself Daniel Radcliffe wants fans to know that she doesn’t speak for everyone involved in the fantasy series. The actor once again spoke out against the author’s transphobia in a new interview with Indiewire, in hopes of supporting all Harry Potter fans who identify as LGTBQ+.
Radcliffe first distanced himself from Rowling back in 2020, when he penned an open letter for LGBTQ+ nonprofit The Trevor Project where he stated in plain terms that “transgender women are women.” At the time, he offered the disclaimer that his statement was not meant to be seen as “in-fighting between J.K. Rowling and myself,” but a call to action to reduce harm against the most vulnerable section of the LGBTQ+ community and an apology to Harry Potter fans who “now feel that their experience of the books has been tarnished or diminished.”
Looking back on that letter with Indiewire, Radcliffe said, “The reason I felt very, very much as though I needed to say something when I did was because, particularly since finishing Potter, I’ve met so many queer and trans kids and young people who had a huge amount of identification with Potter on that. And so seeing them hurt on that day I was like, I wanted them to know that not everybody in the franchise felt that way. And that was really important.”
Added Radcliffe, “It was really important as I’ve worked with the Trevor Project for more than 10 years, and so I don’t think I would’ve been able to look myself in the mirror had I not said anything.”
And while he probably got to know Rowling pretty well after filming eight Harry Potter films, not even he understands why the author continues to ruin her reputation with her hateful beliefs. “It’s not mine to guess what’s going on in someone else’s head,” he said.
Radcliffe recently portrayed “Weird Al” Yankovic in the parody biopic Weird: The Al Yankovic Story. We explained how to watch the movie when it begins streaming November 4th, and spoke with director Eric Appel about how the film scored as many cameos as it did.