Author JK Rowling has told Harry Potter Stars Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson to “save their apologies” as their relationships continue to sour over the issue of transgender identity and rights. In a series of posts on X (formerly Twitter), Ms Rowling criticised the stars in the wake of a landmark review into gender treatment in the United Kingdom. She hit out at “celebs” who she said had “used their platforms to cheer on the transitioning of minors”. Notably, Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson are among the stars who spoke out against the writer’s stance on gender identity in 2020.
In her posts, Mr Rowling, who has previously been criticised for anti-transgender comments, shared a recent independent review “of the medical evidence for transitioning children”. One follower responded to her on X, “Just waiting for Dan and Emma to give you a very public apology … safe in the knowledge that you will forgive them.”
Responding to this, Ms Rowling said, “Not safe, I’m afraid. Celebs who cosied up to a movement intent on eroding women’s hard-won rights and who used their platforms to cheer on the transitioning of minors can save their apologies for traumatised detransitioners and vulnerable women reliant on single sex spaces.”
Not safe, I’m afraid. Celebs who cosied up to a movement intent on eroding women’s hard-won rights and who used their platforms to cheer on the transitioning of minors can save their apologies for traumatised detransitioners and vulnerable women reliant on single sex spaces.
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) April 10, 2024
JK Rowling’s Fall Out With Daniel Radcliffe And Emma Watson
JK Rowling has been accused of being transphobic for her views on gender identity and for saying trans women shouldn’t be allowed into female-only spaces. Her controversial remarks about the trans community has seen her relationship with celebs deteriorate.
The ‘Harry Potter’ writer first expressed gender-critical views back in 2019 when she spoke in favour of Maya Forstater after the researcher lost her job for her allegedly transphobic tweets. However, it wasn’t until 2020 that she made her views on the subject explicit. Retweeting an article about “people who menstruate”, she wrote, “I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?”
“If sex isn’t real, there’s no same-sex attraction. If sex isn’t real, the lived reality of women globally is erased. I know and love trans people, but erasing the concept of sex removes the ability of many to meaningfully discuss their lives. It isn’t hate to speak the truth,” she added.
This prompted widespread outrage from activists, Harry Potter fans and many actors. Daniel Radcliffe, who played lead character Harry Potter, was the first to speak out against Ms Rowling. “Transgender women are women,” he said in a 2020, as per The Independent.
He was backed by Emma Watson, who made similar comments. “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,” she wrote on X/Twitter.
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In 2022, Radcliffe also wrote an essay for The Trevor Project as a way of showing support for the trans community and apologised “for the pain” Rowling’s comments have caused the Harry Potter fandom.
Emma Watson, on the other hand, wrote: “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,” and appeared to make a dig at Rowling at the Baftas in 2022.
However, following the release of the Cass report this week, Rowling took aim at Radcliffe and Watson, telling them to “save their apologies” for “traumatised detransitioners”.
Moreover, her comments came after it was reported that she could be investigated by police for misgendering trans people under Scotland’s new hate crime law. But Ms Rowling, who has frequently argued online that trans women are not women, vowed to continue “calling a man a man” despite what she called the “ludicrous law”. She also said she would not delete social media posts that could breach hate crime laws.
