Daniel Radcliffe has responded to J.K Rowling's latest anti-trans comments, with the Harry Potter actor pledging to 'continue to support the rights of all LGBTQ people'
Daniel Radcliffe has broken his silence on J.K Rowling 's recent comments about himself and his Harry Potter co-star's.
The dad-of-one, 34, says in a new interview that the author's controversial views on transgender people and their allies make him "really sad" and he will continue to support "the rights of all LGBTQ people" going forward.
Radcliffe also addressed claims he "owes" his career to Rowling - something the actor's critics often say in response to his support of the LGBTQ community - and stated "nothing in my life would have probably happened the way it is" without Rowling penning the Harry Potter series.
The Woman In Black actor's comments follow Rowling expressing her disappointment with Radcliffe and his Harry Potter co-star Emma Watson last month, stating "I will never forgive" them for their staunch support of the transgender community.
Rowling, who also writes under the male pseudonym Robert Galbraith, has been critical of the trans community, who make up around 0.5% of the UK population, over recent years, while Radcliffe and Hermione Granger actress Watson have been vocal about their support of all LGBTQ people.
Radcliffe, who earned a Tony Awards nomination on Tuesday, revealed in his new interview that he hasn't spoken to Rowling in many years. The actor, who appeared in all eight Harry Potter films between 2001 and 2011, then opened up further regarding the author's spiral towards transphobia over recent years.
"It makes me really sad, ultimately, because I do look at the person that I met, the times that we met, and the books that she wrote and the world that she created, and all of that is to me so deeply empathic," Radcliffe said of Rowling and controversial views in his interview with The Atlantic .
He went on to add: "Jo, obviously Harry Potter would not have happened without her, so nothing in my life would have probably happened the way it is without that person. But that doesn’t mean that you owe the things you truly believe to someone else for your entire life."
Radcliffe then issued a response to Rowling's recent Twitter (X) comments regarding himself and co-star Watson, with Rowling seemingly implying she would not "forgive" the two stars should they ever decide to apologise to them for supporting the trans community. "I will continue to support the rights of all LGBTQ people, and have no further comment than that," Radcliffe told the publication.
Rowling, 58, made the comments about Radcliffe and Watson during a tweeting spree at the start of April, following the release of a contentious report on NHS England's gender services for children and young people. The Cass Review has been applauded by those sharing Rowling's views, while charities supporting trans youth have raised concerns that the report's language could be misconstrued and potentially create further obstacles for trans young people seeking care.
In one of her posts regarding The Cass Report, Rowling wrote: "Over the last four years, Hilary Cass has conducted the most robust review of the medical evidence for transitioning children that's ever been conducted. Mere hours after it was released to the press and public, committed ideologues are doubling down."
As a response to Rowling's tweet, one of her followers stated: "Just waiting for Dan and Emma to give you a very public apology... safe in the knowledge that you will forgive them..." Rowling hit back, telling her fan: "Not safe, I'm afraid," and went on to say, "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."
Rowling first became publicly critical about gender issues back in 2020. Both Radcliffe and Watson had voiced their support for the trans community, defining their stance repeatedly. In a direct reply to one of Rowling's controversial tweets in June 2020, Radcliffe wrote, "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.
Writing on The Trevor Project's website, an American organisation "working on a safe, more-inclusive world for young LGBTQ+ people," Radcliffe went on to address Harry Potter fans possibly hurt by Rowling's comments about trans people. "To all the people who now feel that their experience of the 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," the actor continued.
"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. It means to you what it means to you and I hope that these comments will not taint that too much."
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