Daniel Radcliffe speaks out against J.K. Rowlings's transphobic allegations
Daniel Radcliffe has spoken out about J.K. Rowling amid ongoing transphobic allegations.
In a recent interview with IndieWire, the Harry Potter actor claimed he "wouldn't be able to look at himself" if he didn't take a stand against her harmful views.
Radcliffe said he felt it was his responsibility to protect his fans from Rowling's rhetoric, while making clear he does not share the same views.
He 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.”
Radcliffe’s letter was aired on the website of The Trevor Project, a non-profit organisation which focuses on suicide prevention efforts in the LGBTQI+ community.
“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,” Radcliffe added.
“But it’s not mine to guess what’s going on in someone else’s head.”
Rowling, 57, has come under fire numerous times for sharing messages on Twitter of a transphobic nature, which began with a tweet in June 2020, in which she disparaged use of the inclusive term “people who menstruate”.
After several trans-exclusionary tweets, Radcliffe decided to share his own message of support, writing a piece addressing the saga, saying “Transgender women are women."
“Any statement to the contrary erases the identity and dignity of transgender people and goes against all advice given by professional health care associations who have far more expertise on this subject matter than either Jo [Rowling] or I.”
Radcliffe added, “To all the people who now feel that their experience of the [‘Harry Potter’] books has been tarnished or diminished, I am deeply sorry for the pain these comments have caused you."
“I really hope that you don’t entirely lose what was valuable in these stories to you.”
Image credits: Getty Images