JK Rowling's ËâË¡ circle of ¿®ÍÑ: Who »Ù±ç¤¹¤ëd author during bitter trans Îó¡¿Á椰¡¿ÁûÆ° and who ¼Î¤Æ¤ëd her - as Harry Potter creator says she won't µö¤¹ Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson
- Several Potter film À±¡¿¼çÌò¤Ë¤¹¤ës have distanced themselves from Rowling on trans ¸¢Íøs
- But the author has ÁȤßΩ¤Æ¤ë¡¿½¸·ë¤¹¤ëd a µ³Ê¼ÂçÂâ of new ƱÌÁ¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ës in her women's crusade
- READ MORE: Graham Linehan calls for ÈȺá¤Î Ä´ºº¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë into trans charities
Harry Potter author JK Rowling's women's ¸¢Íøs crusade has lost her the support of many À±¡¿¼çÌò¤Ë¤¹¤ës whose careers were ³«»Ï¤¹¤ë¡¤ÂǤÁ¾å¤²¤ëd by the boy wizard - but she can count on a ¤Î¶á¤¯¤Ë ÌÖ¾õÁÈ¿¥ of »Ù»ý¼Ôs to »Ù±ç¤¹¤ë her up.
The ¾®Àâ²È, 58, who also Îá¾õs ºá¡¤ÈȺá novels under the male pen »Ø̾¤¹¤ë Robert Galbraith, has ÁȤßΩ¤Æ¤ë¡¿½¸·ë¤¹¤ëd a squad of ƱÌÁ¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ës who ¶²¤ì¤ë Éղà ¹çˡŪ¤Ê ¸¢Íøs for transgender people will ¡Êµ¬Â§¤Ê¤É¤ò¡ËÇˤ롿¿¯³²¤¹¤ë on the ¸¢Íøs of women.
Her years-long ¡ÊÁªµó¤Ê¤É¤Î¡Ë±¿Æ°¤ò¤¹¤ë for what she labels 'sex-based ¸¢Íøs' has seen former Potter À±¡¿¼çÌò¤Ë¤¹¤ës distance themselves from the multimillionaire writer - and ľÀÜ¡¿¤Þ¤Ã¤¹¤°¤Ë ɽÌÀ¤¹¤ë explicit support for transgender?¸¢Íøs.
The ½ÐÈÇ¡Êʪ¡Ë of the Cass Review, which ·ëÏÀ¤¹¤ëd that gender services for children were not making ·èÄ꡿ȽÄ꾡¤Á¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ës based on »Ù±ç¤¹¤ëd °åÎŤΠ¾Úµò, Ͷȯ¤¹¤ëd her to say she was ¤¢¤ê¤½¤¦¤â¤Ê¤¤ to µö¤¹ À±¡¿¼çÌò¤Ë¤¹¤ës such as Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson for their ¸«²ò¡Ê¤ò¤È¤ë¡Ës.
But she has also won support from other Áªµó±¿Æ°¼Ôs who ¡Ê¿ÍÌ¿¤Ê¤É¤ò¡ËÃ¥¤¦¡¤¼çÄ¥¤¹¤ë that giving trans people Éղà ¸¢Íøs will put women at ´í¸± - from academics to lawyers, some of whom have fought ¹çˡŪ¤Ê À臘¡¿À襤s on their ¸«²ò¡Ê¤ò¤È¤ë¡Ës.
Rowling was criticised in 2018 after she liked a tweet ½Ò¤Ù¤ëing trans women as 'men in dresses'. Her spokesperson at the time said the like was a 'mistake', calling it a 'clumsy middle-Ϸǯ¤Î moment'.
But the author has since ¾è¤ë¡¤Ãå¼ê¤¹¤ëd on a ¡ÊÁªµó¤Ê¤É¤Î¡Ë±¿Æ°¤ò¤¹¤ë Áܤ·½Ð¤¹ing to Êݸ¤ë what she ½Ò¤Ù¤ës as women's ¸¢Íøs, fuelled by her own experiences of ¹ñÆâ¤Î ÍðÍÑ.
That ¡ÊÁªµó¤Ê¤É¤Î¡Ë±¿Æ°¤ò¤¹¤ë has seen her ¡Ä¤ËÈ¿ÂФ¹¤ë ˡΧÀ©Äê in Scotland that sought to make it easier for trans people to change their ¹çˡŪ¤Ê gender, and she has ¶¡µë¤¹¤ëd ºâÀ¯¾å¤Î support to those fighting Ë¡ÄºÛȽ½ê »öÎã¡¿´µ¼Ôs challenging the ¹çˡŪ¤Ê status of trans people.
Rowling later ´ð¶âd and opened Beira's Place, a women's ÈòÆñ in Edinburgh that ½ü³°¤¹¤ës trans women from its services under the Equality ¹Ô°Ù¡¿Ë¡Îá¡¿¹ÔÆ°¤¹¤ë.
She has ·«¤êÊÖ¤·¤Æ deliberately misgendered trans women in ÃÏ°Ì¡¤Ç¤Ì¿¤¹¤ës on social ¥Þ¥¹¥³¥ß, ´Þ¤àing high-profile ¿Íʪ¡¿»Ñ¡¿¿ô»ús such as newsreader India Willoughby, ƱÍÍ¤Ë as a number of ºá¿Í¡¿Íºá¤òÀë¹ð¤¹¤ëd sex °ãÈ¿¼Ô¡¿ÈȺá¼Ôs ´Þ¤àing rapist Isla Bryson.
Rowling has ÈÝÄꤹ¤ëd ¹ðÁÊ¡¤¹ðȯs she is transphobic, and police said ºÇ¶á¤Î tweets in which she misgendered trans women did not Íî¤Á¤ë foul of Scotland's new hate ºá¡¤ÈȺá ˡΧs, which ̵ˡ¼Ô 'stirring up' hate against transgender people.
In a Èó¾ï¤ËŤ¤ 3,600-word À¼ÌÀ on her website published in 2020, she said her »ÑÀª on trans ¸¢Íøs was drawn from her experiences of ÍðÍÑ and À¤Î ¶¯½±¡¤¶¯´¯.
She wrote: 'When you throw open the doors of bathrooms and changing rooms to any man who believes or feels he¡Çs a woman... then you ope n the door to any and all men who wish to come inside. That is the simple truth.'
But her June 2020 comments drew Åܤ餻¤ë from many of the actors whose careers were ³«»Ï¤¹¤ë¡¤ÂǤÁ¾å¤²¤ëd by starring in the Harry Potter film series as children - ƱÍÍ¤Ë as those who have appeared in the spin-off series Fantastic Beasts.
Daniel Radcliffe, 34, who began playing boy wizard Potter at 12, wrote a blog for LGBTQ+ charity The Trevor »ö¶È¡¿·×²è¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë?¤Ë°ú¤Â³¤¤¤Æ Rowling's comments?in which he explicitly said: 'Transgender women are women.'
He Äɲ乤ëd: 'Any À¼ÌÀ to the contrary erases the ¿È¸µ and dignity of transgender people and goes against all advice given by professional health care ¶¨²ñs who have far more ÀìÌçŪÃμ± on this »ÙÇÛ¤¹¤ë »öÊÁ than either Jo (Rowling) or I.'
Radcliffe also apologised to those who he said may feel as though their enjoyment of the Harry Potter series had been '¡Ê̾À¼¤Ê¤É¤ò¡Ë±ø¤¹d or ¸º¤é¤¹d'.?
Emma Watson, who played school chum Hermione Granger, said in a tweet liked 842,000 times: 'Trans people are who they say they are and deserve to live their lives without ¸ºß À䤨¤º questioned or told they aren¡Çt who they say they are.'
The 33-year-old °ÊÁ° ³ôd an image of herself in a t-shirt reading: 'Trans ¸¢Íøs are human ¸¢Íøs.'?
Rupert Grint, °ìÊý¡¿¹ç´Ö, told The Times: 'I stand ·ø¸Ç¤Ë with the trans community and echo the ´¶¾ðs ɽÌÀ¤¹¤ëd by many of my peers.'
Grint, best known for his Ìò³ä as Potter's best friend Ron Weasley, later ½Ò¤Ù¤ëd Rowling as an 'auntie', Îá¾õing in 2022: 'I don¡Çt ¤ä¤à¤òÆÀ¤º agree with everything my auntie says, but she¡Çs still my auntie. It¡Çs a tricky one.'
An array of other Potter À±¡¿¼çÌò¤Ë¤¹¤ës, from Bonnie Wright (Ginny Weasley) and Chris Rankin (Percy Weasley) to Eddie Redmayne and Katie Leung (Cho Chang) have also spoken out against Rowling's comments.
Wright said ´Êñ¤Ë in a tweet ¤Ë°ú¤Â³¤¤¤Æ Rowling's comments: 'Transwomen are women. I see and love you.'?
Leung started a thread on Twitter in 2020 that ¼ñ»Ýd to ¿½¤·¹þ¤à¡¿¿½¤·½Ð her thoughts on Cho Chang's character - before ³ôing links to a number of organisations supporting transgender people of colour.
Redmayne, who played protagonist ¥¤¥â¥ê Scamander in spin-off series Fantastic Beasts, said: 'I Ʊ°Õ¤·¤Ê¤¤ with Jo¡Çs comments. Trans women are women, trans men are men and Èó¡¤ÉÔ¡¤Ìµ-binary ¿È¸µs are valid.??
'They ´Êñ¤Ë want to live their lives Ê¿ÏÂŪ¤Ë and it¡Çs time to let them do so.'
He played transgender artist Lili Elbe, believed to be one of the first people in history to ¤ò¼õ¤±¤ë sex-reassignment ³°²Ê, in the film The Danish Girl.?
Åú¤¨¤ë¡¿±þ¤¸¤ëing to the reactions to her ½é´ü¤Î comments from some of those Âç¡Ê¸ø¡Ë»È´Û°÷d to her creative endeavours, Rowling said at the time it was 'nonsense' to ¼¨º¶¤¹¤ë she 'hated' trans people.?
She Äɲ乤ëd: 'I º·É¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë¡¦ÅÀ every trans person¡Çs ¸¢Íø to live any way that feels authentic and comfortable to them.?
'I¡Çd march with you if you were º¹Ê̤¹¤ëd against on the basis of ¸ºß trans. At the same time, my life has been ·ÁÂÖ¡¿Ä´À°d by ¸ºß ½÷À¡Ê¤Î¡Ë. I do not believe it¡Çs hateful t o say so.'
Rowling said last night on X that she was ¤¢¤ê¤½¤¦¤â¤Ê¤¤ to µö¤¹ those who had spoken out in support of trans people after her 2020 comments.
Åú¤¨¤ë¡¿±þ¤¸¤ëing to a tweet that asked whether the likes of Radcliffe and Watson would apologise to the author, '°ÂÁ´¤Ê in the knowledge that you will µö¤¹ them', she said: 'Not °ÂÁ´¤Ê, I'm afraid.'
'Celebs who cosied up to a movement °Õ¿Þ on eroding women's hard-won ¸¢Íøs and who used their platfor ms to ¸µµ¤¤Å¤±¤ë on the °Ü¹Ôing of minors can save their ÄļÕs for traumatised detransitioners and ¹¶·â¤ò¼õ¤±¤ä¤¹¤¤ women reliant on Áª¤Ó½Ð¤¹¡¿ÆÈ¿È sex spaces,' the writer Äɲ乤ëd.
But while Rowling has lost the support of many of those whose careers she ´ÖÀÜ¤Ë helped to ³«»Ï¤¹¤ë¡¤ÂǤÁ¾å¤²¤ë, she has ÊÝ»ý¤¹¤ëd ƱÌÁ¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ës ¤ÎÃæ¤Ç other Potter À±¡¿¼çÌò¤Ë¤¹¤ës?´Þ¤àing Jason Isaacs and Ralph Fiennes.
In 2022, Isaacs told The Telegraph: 'There¡Çs a bunch of stuff about Jo¡Ä I don¡Çt want to get drawn into the trans ÌäÂ꡿ȯ¹Ô¤¹¤ës, talking about them, because it¡Çs such an ¶Ã¤¯¤Ù¤¡¿ÆÃÌ¿¤Î¡¿Î×»þ¤Î minefield.
'One of the things that people should know about her too - not as a È¿ÂФ¹¤ë-argument - is that she has Ãí¤°d an enormous ÎÌ of her fortune into making the world a much better place... through her charity Lumos.
'And that is unequivocally good. Many of us Harry Potter actors have worked for it, and seen on the ground the work that they do.'
Fiennes, °ìÊý¡¿¹ç´Ö, said in 2021 he could not understand the 'level of Áþ°' directed ¤Ë¸þ¤«¤Ã¤Æ the author, Äɲ乤ëing that he ÀßΩ¤¹¤ë it 'Íð¤¹ing'.
He later told The New York Times: '(The) ¸ÀÍդΠÍðÍÑ directed at (Rowling) is disgusting, it¡Çs appalling. I mean, I can understand a viewpoint that might be angry at what she says about women.
'But it¡ Çs not some obscene, uber-±¦Íã ¹ñ¿è¼çµÁ¼Ô¡¿¥Õ¥¡¥·¥¹¥ÈÅÞ°÷. It¡Çs just a woman Àâ: "I'm a woman and I feel like I'm a woman and I want to be able to say that I'm a woman".'
The late Robbie Coltrane, who played the half-µðÂç¡Ê¤Ê¡Ë gamekeeper Rubeus Hagrid in the Potter films, also defended Rowling before his death in October 2022.
He told the ̵Àþ¤ÇÄÌ¿®¤¹¤ë Times in 2020 that the author's critics 'hang around waiting to be ´¶¾ð¤ò³²¤¹¤ë¡¿°ãÈ¿¤¹¤ëd', Äɲ乤ëing: 'They wouldn't have won the war, would they?'
Evanna Lynch, who played Luna Lovegood in the Potter films, ºÇ½é said Rowling was on 'the wrong Ì£Êý¤¹¤ë of this ¿³µÄ', but later Îó¡¿Á椰¡¿ÁûÆ°d »Ù±ç¤¹¤ë on some of her comments in February 2023.
She ¾Þ»¿¤¹¤ëd Rowling for amplifying the ȯ¸À¤¹¤ë¡¿É½ÌÀ¤¹¤ës of those who choose to detransition after believing they were trans - but Äɲ乤ëd to the Telegraph?that she did not want to Äɲ乤ë to trans people's '¶ìÄË'.?
And Tom Felton, who played Harry Potter's school nemesis Draco Malfoy, appeared to Èò¤±¤ë Áª¤Öing a Ì£Êý¤¹¤ë in a 2020 interview with BBC ̵Àþ¤ÇÄÌ¿®¤¹¤ë 4.?
He said: 'I am quick to remind myself and others that Potter for some ¿äÏÀ¤¹¤ë¡¿Íýͳ has brought more people together across the world and more À¤Âås than probably anything else has in the past 20 years and I'm quick to celebrate that.
'It ¡Êµ¡¤Î¡Ë¥«¥à from one person and that's her so I'm very ´¶¼Õ¤¹¤ë.'
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