Growing up in the 2000s, most people have heard about, read, or watched the Harry Potter series, written by JK Rowling. Although Rowling writes about the magical world of Harry Potter, this author does not support transgender rights, and she has faced backlash not only from readers and fans but also from actors who played parts in the Harry Potter franchise.
JK Rowling’s history of anti-trans actions runs deep, beginning with liking tweets in 2018, and continuing to the present day. In 2018, as noted by Theara Coleman at theweek.com, JK Rowling’s opinions of transgender people were first noticed when she liked a tweet which spoke of trans women as “men in dresses”. This was played off as an accident; however, evidence following this event proved that this was more than just a mishap on Rowling’s part. Only a year later, Rowling stood by Maya Forstater, who spoke against transgender women in a similar way, following it with a tweet of her own. In 2020, Rowling went on a streak of various different responses to accusations of her anti-trans views, as actors such as Emma Watson began to speak out about the backlash. The first 2020 event was another anti-trans tweet, this one misgendering Alex Drummond. Again in 2020, Rowling tweets “‘People who menstruate.’ I’m sure there used to be a word for those people, ‘Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?’”. Rowling continues her anti-trans trend in her novel, Troubled Blood, about a man who dresses as a woman and kills people. I found the plot of this story especially shocking, because Rowling is not only making comments about transgender people, but she is putting them in a negative light, even going as far as to portray them as violent. The last anti-trans action that I will touch on is Rowling’s 3,600 word essay in response to backlash from actors in Harry Potter saying things such as “women must accept and admit that there is no material difference between trans women and themselves.” In 2024, Rowling put out a statement that no transgender children exist and that no child could be “born in the wrong body.” Finally, in 2025, we see another important example of JK Rowling’s actions against transgender women in celebrating the UK Supreme Court ruling which states that women, by definition, are based upon biological sex. Because JK Rowling has such an influential role in the UK (mostly due to the Harry Potter series), this celebration not only shows us exactly how Rowling feels about transgender women, but also shows that none of the comments of the past were accidental, which she had said before.
In response to Rowling’s actions, actors from the Harry Potter series have spoken out against Rowling’s transgender stance. On social media, it can be difficult to see if people have an opinion that is actually in support of human rights, and some of these actors fell into the trap of cancel culture while talking about Rowling. The most notable being Emma Watson, due to her most recent and most controversial interview, speaking about Rowling. In the past, Watson has spoken in an exceptionally kind manner towards transgender people and their rights. In a tweet, Watson says, “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.” Although things such as this tweet, said in argument to Rowling’s views, show Watson as a transgender supporter, her most recent interview, asking about Rowling, has been noticed by the public and criticized for backing out of her previous stance. In this interview, Watson says she does not wish to cancel people, and hopes that she can still love people with whom she shares different views. Watson also says that “there’s just no world in which I could ever cancel her out”. Watson was faced with a complex situation because Rowling provided her with the opportunity to play a strong female role as Hermione Granger in Harry Potter. Watson discusses this in her recent interview, saying, “I just don’t know what else to do other than hold these two seemingly incompatible things together at the same time.” This comment caused a vast amount of criticism for Watson, with people saying that this meant that she was backing out on her previous stance on the issue. I have always admired Watson’s perspective and fluidity in talking about important issues, so maybe I have bias, but I do not think that this comment is worthy of the anger towards her. Although Watson’s stance in this interview is a little more gentle towards Rowling, it remains clear what her views are in regards to transgender rights when looking at past information from this actress. Rowling did not agree with me that Watson was being kind in this interview. Rowling posted a livid response, calling Watson ignorant, stating that “she has so little experience of real life she’s ignorant of how ignorant she is.” Rowling also said that she will never forgive Emma Watson and co-star Daniel Radcliffe for their public criticism of her.
When looking at Watson’s most recent interview, it is important to look at the intention behind her words and not necessarily the way she phrases them. It is clear that Emma Watson is an advocate for the trans community and supports the rights of people to exist as their true selves. However, it is not celebrities who hold all the power in this situation. It is up to the general public to choose whether or not to support JK Rowling’s political views by putting money in her pocket from their own.
