Following the end of the Harry Potter franchise and the start of a new one, there has been major controversy surrounding author J.K. Rowling and a lot of the cast who brought her world to life.
Long after the final film for the Wizarding world starring Harry, Ron and Hermione, the author of the best-selling books was met with much anger after she tweeted about her thoughts on the transgender rights movement.
In 2018, Rowling began letting her fans know her opinions when she liked a tweet that called trans women ‘men in dresses,’ before writing up her own rant.
In 2020, Rowling talked about why she doesn’t support protecting ‘any man who believes or feels he's a woman,’ as she claimed, ‘huge numbers of women are justifiably terrified by the trans activists.’
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What followed was either support or condemnation from the cast of the films... and there have been many who have spoken out. Here’s the full list:
Matthew Lewis
Also known as Neville Longbottom, Lewis was asked the question about Rowling and her views when he was promoting his new show, Murder Before Evensong.
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In the interview, he explained that he might work with the author again in the future, but it would largely depend on the project.
He said after being asked by The Independent: "I think that it would largely depend on what the project is, I guess that every case has to be taken on its merits.
"I’d have to have a conversation about the things that you’re referring to, and I’d want to make sure I was totally comfortable squaring it with my own beliefs and opinions before moving forward."
But he also thinks he shouldn’t be seen as a ‘role model’ for others, telling the outlet: "I don’t think I should be a role model for anyone, frankly, but I am aware that, for better or worse, people may see me as that, and so I don’t think it’s unfair to ask these questions."
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And in a 2021 interview with the i Paper, Lewis said people are 'entitled to be whoever they want to be', but went on to say he is 'acutely aware that every opportunity that I’ve really had in the last 10 years, it’s all come about because of Harry Potter'.
He added: "I just don’t know if this conversation needs yet another opinion from a white man telling either a) the trans community or b) women what to think, what to feel, what to say."
Emma Watson
Watson is probably one of the most outspoken members of the cast when it comes to the rights of the trans community, and she has been no stranger to answering questions about Rowling and their feud since she publicly opposed the author's views in 2020.
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"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," tweeted the actress, adding: "I want my trans followers to know that I and so many people around the world see you, respect you and love you for who you are."
Just this year, she further revealed she still cares for Rowling, despite their differences.
She said on Jay Shetty's podcast: “I really don't believe that by having had that experience and holding the love and support and views that I have, means that I can't and don't treasure Jo and the person that I had personal experiences with."
"I will never believe that one negates the other and that my experience of that person, I don't get to keep and cherish," she continued. "I just don't think these things are either-or."
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"I think it's my deepest wish that I hope people who don't agree with my opinion will love me, and I hope I can keep loving people who I don't necessarily share the same opinion with," she said.
"I guess where I've landed is it's not so much what we say or what we believe, but very often how we say it that's really important."
Daniel Radcliffe
Radcliffe, who shot to fame after portraying Harry Potter at age 11, previously won an award for the LGBTQ+ care network The Trevor Project in 2011.
So, you might guess his stance on the matter.
In 2020, he wrote in an essay for The Trevor Project: "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."
He added: "If these books taught you that love is the strongest force in the universe, capable of overcoming anything; if they taught you that strength is found in diversity, and that dogmatic ideas of pureness lead to the oppression of vulnerable groups; if you believe that a particular character is trans, nonbinary, or gender fluid, or that they are gay or bisexual; if you found anything in these stories that resonated with you and helped you at any time in your life — then that is between you and the book that you read, and it is sacred.
"And in my opinion, nobody can touch that."
In 2023, Radcliffe was on a roundtable discussion with trans and nonbinary people for The Trevor Project's YouTube series and again, reaffirmed his belief.
Rupert Grint
Ron Weasley actor Grint has chosen quite the quiet life since starring in the films and is rarely known to talk publicly about his affiliations- until Rowling’s comments.
"I firmly stand with the trans community and echo the sentiments expressed by many of my peers," Grint told The Sunday Times. "Trans women are women. Trans men are men. We should all be entitled to live with love and without judgment."
He then said in an interview with Esquire a year later that he’s appreciative of Rowling's impact on his life but ‘to stay silent would have [spoken]. Sometimes silence is even louder.’
He then dubbed trans people ‘a valuable group that I think needs standing up for.’
Bonnie Wright
Long after starring as Ginny Weasley, Wright quickly spoke up when Rowling's rant was released, posting a tweet for all to see on X, writing: "If Harry Potter was a source of love and belonging for you, that love is infinite and there to take without judgment or question. Transwomen are Women."
She added: "I see and love you, Bonnie x."
Harry Melling
Dudley Dursley actor Melling has been in the news lately because of his new flick, Pillion, but it was in 2022 that he truly made waves for his outspoken comment.
He told The Independent: "I can only speak for myself, and what I feel, to me, is very simple, which is that transgender women are women and transgender men are men."
"Every single person has the right to choose who they are and to identify themselves as what's true to themselves," Melling continued, adding: "I don't want to join the debate of pointing fingers and saying, 'That's right, that's wrong', because I don't think I'm the correct spokesperson for that. But I do believe that everybody has the right to choose."
Chris Rankin
The Weasley family has been out in full force, with Rankin, who played Percy, sharing his thoughts in a 2021 interview with The Eastern Daily Press.
Rankin revealed he works with the Albert Kennedy Trust, to provide money for LGBTQ+ causes.
"What is important to highlight is that, when a trans person says they are male or female, that is what they are and that is how we should treat them," he asserted. "It is damaging to them to say otherwise."
He added: "They are a very small minority who have an awful lot to deal with, and the best thing we can do is support them like we would — or should — any other human being on the planet.”
Katie Leung
Leung, aka, Cho Chang, posted on X that inadvertently showed support, without actually stating so.
At first, she pretended to talk about the controversy surrounding her character's name, after fans believed it was racist and stereotypical to call the Chinese character Cho Chang.
She wrote: "So, you want my thoughts on Cho Chang? Okay, here goes..."
She then posted links to LGBTQ+ resources, petitions, and funds that help trans women of colour, with the hashtag ‘#AsiansForBlackLives.’
Miriam Margolyes
Margolyes, who played Professor Pomona Sprout in the franchise, shared how learning about the trans movement had changed her mind.
In a 2020 interview with the Radio Times, Margolyes initially shared: "Look at poor JK Rowling. She's dived into the pool and got very wet."
Buy in 2022, she told the Radio Times that ‘the vituperation that JK Rowling has received is misplaced’ and that: “I admire her as a human being. She's a generous woman, she's a brilliant writer."
In 2024, she concluded her support of Watson, Radcliffe and Grint, telling The Telegraph: "They're grown up, and they have opinions. So why can't they give their opinions? [...] They shouldn't be trammelled because they once were in a film that somebody wrote."
She continued: "There are so few trans people. People should be allowed to get on and be who they are, or be who they want to be, without all this nastiness."
Sean Biggerstaff
Having played the loveable Scottish Oliver Wood (Gryffindor Quidditch captain), fans were eager to hear his thoughts... and boy, has he had many.
Probably one of the most controversial tweets he sent out in response to Rowling was when he called her out for quoting Nick Cohen, a journalist and political commentator on the Palestine and Israel war, in which he called it ‘drivel’ and accused her of trying to appear ‘liberal’.
He added in another in response to Venice Allen, who wrote that ‘JK Rowling taught a generation to read and then she challenged them to think’, where he said: "This is an astonishingly stupid thing to say."
Jason Isaacs
Isaacs, who played Lucius Malfoy, shared his ‘complicated’ feelings about the author, as he told the Telegraph: "There’s a bunch of stuff about Jo. You know, I play complicated people, I'm interested in complicated people.
"I don’t want to get drawn into the trans issues, talking about them, because it's such an extraordinary minefield. She has her opinions, I have mine. They differ in many different areas."
Jason Isaacs shared his views (Warner Bros.)
Evanna Lynch
Lynch, who starred as Luna Lovegood, has ‘compassion for both sides of the argument’, telling the Telegraph: "I know what it was like to be a teenager who hated my body so much I wanted to crawl out of my skin, so I have great compassion for trans people and I don’t want to add to their pain."
However, she said she wished people would give Rowling ‘more grace’ and 'listen to her’.
Topics: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Harry Potter, JK Rowling, TV And Film,
Britt Jones