Which Harry Potter stars have backed JK Rowling?

Which Harry Potter stars have backed JK Rowling – and who has spoken out against the author amid transgender controversy?

• The author, 57, has repeatedly come under fire over her views on gender identity
• Amid the fierce backlash has been criticism from the franchise’s three stars
• But some of Harry Potter’s older stars have spoken out in support of Ms Rowling 

JK Rowling’s controversial views on gender identity have divided both stars and fans of the Harry Potter franchise.

The author, 57, has repeatedly come under fire after slamming an article headlined ‘Creating a more equal post-Covid-19 world for people who menstruate’ in June 2020, but vehemently denies that she is transphobic.

Amid the fierce backlash was criticism from the film’s three stars Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint, who all publicly spoke out in support of transgender people in the wake of the article.

Ms Rowling was then also absent from an eagerly anticipated reunion that saw the franchise’s stars mark the 20-year anniversary of the first film in the series, instead featuring only in archived footage shot in 2019.

JK Rowling pictured attending the premiere for Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore at The Royal Festival Hall in March last year

But Harry Potter’s older stars, including Ralph Fiennes and the late Robbie Coltrane, conversely spoke out in support of the author.

So exactly who from the hugely popular movies has spoken out on the issue and where do they stand?

Daniel Radcliffe

Daniel Radcliffe, who starred as Harry Potter, said he was ‘deeply sorry’ for the pain caused by Ms Rowling’s comments

In the immediate aftermath of Ms Rowling’s comments, Radcliffe said he felt compelled to make a statement about the acclaimed novelist.

He hit out at the author who made him famous, saying: ‘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.’

In an article on the The Trevor Project website – an organisation that provides 24/7 crisis support services to LGBTQ young people, he added: ‘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 or I.’

He continued: ‘I realize that certain press outlets will probably want to paint this as in-fighting between JK Rowling and myself, but that is really not what this is about, nor is it what’s important right now.

‘While Jo is unquestionably responsible for the course my life has taken, as someone who has been honoured to work with and continues to contribute to The Trevor Project for the last decade, and just as a human being, I feel compelled to say something at this moment.’ 

Emma Watson

Emma Watson took to Twitter to share her thoughts on the issue and support transgender people

The actress, 30, who became famous as a child for playing Hermione Granger, took to Twitter to share her thoughts on the issue.

It came just hours after the Ms Rowling had penned a deeply personal essay to address the controversy, revealing she was sexually assaulted in her 20s and saying she still feels the scars of ‘domestic violence’ in her first marriage. 

Ms Watson wrote: ‘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. 

‘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.’

She went on to say that she was proud to donate to charities such as Mermaids and Mama Cash before encouraging her fans to do the same.

More recently, Ms Watson appeared to take aim at the author when she introduced an award at the BAFTAs at the Royal Albert Hall in March last year.

Host Rebel Wilson had introduced the star to the stage by saying: ‘Here to present the next award is Emma Watson. She calls herself a feminist, but we all know she’s a witch.’

Ms Watson then emphasised: ‘I’m here for all the witches’ – an apparent nod to Ms Rowling’s previous statements about transgender issues.

Rupert Grint

Grint, best known for playing Ron Weasley in the film series, joined his two co-stars in speaking out against Ms Rowling

Grint – who is best known for playing Ron Weasley in the film series – joined his two co-stars in speaking out against the acclaimed author.

Speaking to The Times in June 2020, he said: ‘I firmly stand with the trans community and echo the sentiments expressed by many of my peers. 

‘Trans women are women. Trans men are men. We should all be entitled to live with love and without judgement.’

In March the following year, he explained his decision to voice his opposition to Ms Rowling’s comments saying that while he has ‘huge respect’ for the author, he can still disagree with her views.

Grint admitted that while he was ‘not an authority’ on the debate, he felt he had a responsibility to speak out in support of the trans community as ‘silence is louder’.

Speaking to Esquire, he added: ‘I am hugely grateful [for] everything that she’s done. I think that she’s extremely talented, and I mean, clearly, her works are genius.’

Elaborating on his reasoning, he went on: ‘But yeah, I think also you can have huge respect for someone and still disagree with things like that…

‘Sometimes silence is even louder. I felt like I had to because I think it was important to. I mean, I don’t want to talk about all that… Generally, I’m not an authority on the subject.

‘Just out of kindness, and just respecting people. I think it’s a valuable group that I think needs standing up for.’

Robbie Coltrane

Prior to his death, Robbie Coltrane defended the author

Coltrane, who played the beloved Hagrid in the movie franchise, died following multiple organ failure aged 72 in October last year.

Prior to his death, he bucked the trend and spoke out in support of Ms Rowling.

In September 2020, Coltrane told Radio Times: ‘I don’t think what she said was offensive, really. 

‘I don’t know why but there’s a whole Twitter generation of people who hang around waiting to be offended.

‘They wouldn’t have won the war, would they? That’s me talking like a grumpy old man, but you just think, Oh, get over yourself. 

‘Wise up, stand up straight, and carry on.’

He added: ‘I don’t want to get involved in all of that because of all the hate mail and all that s***, which I don’t need at my time of life.’

Helena Bonham Carter

Helena Bonham Carter also spoke out in support of Ms Rowling

The actress, who played Bellatrix Lestrange, spoken out on her hatred of cancel culture as she discussed the ‘witch hunt’ against Ms Rowling in November. 

She claimed there would be ‘millions’ of people who could be cancelled if you ‘looked closely enough’ at their personal life.

In a November 2022 interview with The Sunday Times Magazine, the actress said: ‘I think she has been hounded. It’s been taken to the extreme, the judgmentalism of people. She’s allowed her opinion, particularly if she’s suffered abuse.

‘Everybody carries their own history of trauma and forms their opinions from that trauma, and you have to respect where people come from and their pain. 

‘You don’t all have to agree on everything—that would be insane and boring. She’s not meaning it aggressively, she’s just saying something out of her own experience.’

The actress said she did not think the stars were ‘ungrateful’ after JK’s writing shot them into stratospheric stardom, but were protecting their own fan base and generation.

Ralph Fiennes

Fiennes, who played Lord Voldemort, defended the author

Fiennes defended the author over ‘the disgusting’ abuse she has received for her views.

The actor, who played Lord Voldemort in the film adaptations, said he understands where she ‘is coming from’.

Taking a different stance to the younger members of the Harry Potter cast, he added that Ms Rowling choosing to express her opinions as a woman did not make her an ‘uber Right-wing fascist’.

Speaking to the New York Times, he said: ‘The verbal abuse directed at her is disgusting, it’s appalling. I mean, I can understand a viewpoint that might be angry at what she says about women.

‘But it’s not some obscene, uber Right-wing fascist. It’s just a woman saying: ‘I’m a woman and I feel I’m a woman and I want to be able to say that I’m a woman.

‘And I understand where she’s coming from. Even though I’m not a woman.’

He added: ‘JK Rowling has written these great books about empowerment, about young children finding themselves as human beings.

‘It’s about how you become a better, stronger, more morally centred human being.’

Jason Isaacs

Jason Isaacs praised Ms Rowling’s charity work and refused to be draw in on the debate

The Lucius Malfoy actor vowed to not ‘jump to stab her in the back’ as he praised Ms Rowling’s charity work.

He said ‘she has poured an enormous amount of her fortune into making the world a much better place’ during an interview in January last year.

Speaking to the Telegraph, he said the author had opinions which ‘differed’ from his own and said he did not want ‘to get drawn into the trans issues’ which he described as an, ‘extraordinary minefield.’

‘She has her opinions, I have mine. They differ in many different areas.

‘But one of the things that people should know about her too – not as a counter-argument – is that she has poured an enormous amount of her fortune into making the world a much better place, for hundreds of thousands of vulnerable children, through her charity Lumos. And that is unequivocally good.

‘Many of us Harry Potter actors have worked for it, and seen on the ground the work that they do.

‘So for all that she has said some very controversial things, I was not going to be jumping to stab her in the front – or back – without a conversation with her, which I’ve not managed to have yet.’

Tom Felton

Tom Felton received abuse after his comments on the issue

Felton, who plays Isaacs’ on-screen son Draco, praised author of the original books for ‘bringing so many generatons together’ through the stories.

But his thoughts on Ms Rowling saw him targeted with the same vitriolic abuse. 

The outburst was sparked after Felton said he would not shun or criticise her as others had, instead insisting he was grateful to her for her books earlier this week.

And he told Radio 4’s Today programme this morning: ‘I can’t speak for what other individuals have said. I am constantly reminded that the Potter-verse, certainly when we were finishing the films, there was an expectation that the fandom would be dwindling slowly over the years, whereas most fans that say hello to me, shout “Potter” or “Draco” at me weren’t even born when the books were being made.

Bonnie Wright tweeted in support of transgender people

‘I am quick to remind myself and others that Potter for some reason has brought more people together across the world and more generations than probably anything else has in the past 20 years and I’m quick to celebrate that.

‘It came from one person and that’s her so I’m very grateful.’

Bonnie Wright

The Ginny Weasley actor, who featured in four of the films before ultimately marrying Potter, tweeted in support of trans people following Ms Rowling’s comments.

She tweeted: ‘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. I see and love you, Bonnie x’.

Harry Melling said, ‘transgender women are women and transgender men are men’

Harry Melling

Melling rose to fame during his role as Dudley Dursley in the movie franchise.

In an interview with the Independent earlier this month, he said: ‘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.’

He continued: ‘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.’ 

Eddie Redmayne

Eddie Redmayne said he disagreed with Ms Rowling’s comments

The Fantastic Beast And Where To Find Them star joined in the chorus of critics towards the author.

In a statement released to Variety, Eddie said: ‘As someone who has worked with both J.K. Rowling and members of the trans community…

‘I wanted to make it absolutely clear where I stand. I disagree with Jo’s comments. 

‘Trans women are women, trans men are men and non-binary identities are valid.’

More recently, though, he praised Ms Rowling in an new interview with Radio Times last year.

Eddie has worked with Rowling since 2016, after starring as Newt Scamander in the Fantastic Beasts series, which is based on the 2001 book by Rowling. 

‘They’re marathons… but I love the characters and love Jo’s work. I feel amazingly lucky,’ he said.

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