Daniel Radcliffe has explained his decision to speak out against Harry Potter author JK Rowling’s comments on transgender people, stating that he wanted to reassure LGBTQI+ kids that the writer doesn’t speak for ‘everyone in the franchise’.
Radcliffe wrote an open letter back in 2020 declaring his support for transgender people, as well as people from across the whole queer community, which flew in the face of some of the views espoused by Rowling.
At the time, he said: “It’s clear that we need to do more to support transgender and non-binary people, not invalidate their identities, and not cause further harm.”
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That piece was written for The Trevor Project, a group that works tirelessly to prevent suicide in young LGBTQI+ people around the world.
Radcliffe has supported their efforts since 2010.
The star also said that while Rowling is ‘unquestionably responsible’ for his success as an actor, he ‘felt compelled to say something’ on the matter.
“Transgender women are women,” he wrote.
“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 or I.
“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.”
Now, speaking to IndieWire, Radcliffe said: “The reason I was 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.
“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,
“But it’s not mine to guess what’s going on in someone else’s head.”
Radcliffe was speaking ahead of the premiere of his latest film, Weird: The Al Yankovic Story in which he plays the famous parody song comedian in a fake biopic.
If you want to see what the fuss is about, it premieres on The Roku Channel this Friday, but will be available to watch on Sky and NOW TV over in the UK.
It's definitely going to be weird, of that you can be sure.
Tom Wood