The Harry Potter actor has spoken about the statement he made in 2020 (Picture: Rex)
Daniel Radcliffe has reflected on the statement he gave supporting transgender people in the wake of JK Rowling’s initial controversial comments on the matter in 2020, which caused a wave of backlash online.
Doubling down on what he said at the time, via LGBTQ+ suicide prevention charity The Trevor Project, the Harry Potter star has now explained that he had been really concerned at seeing fans ‘hurt on that day’ and wanted them to know that ‘not everybody in the franchise felt that way’.
Rowling initially disparaged an article that referred to ‘people who menstruate’, responding to it at the time by stating: ‘I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?’
She has since followed that post with a series of tweets defending her belief in biological sex, and continues to speak out on the topic, leading to accusations of transphobia, which the author has previously denied.
In a new interview, 33-year-old Radcliffe spoke about his reaction again, clarifying: ‘The reason I 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,’ the star told IndieWire.
Radcliffe was concerned to see fans ‘hurt’ by Rowling’s views (Picture: Jeff Vespa/@portraits/Rex/Shutterstock)
He played Harry Potter in the film adaptations of Rowling’s books (Picture: Murray Close/Warner Bros)
He added that he didn’t think he ‘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.’
In his open letter published on The Trevor Project’s website in June 2020, where he has been a supporter since 2010, the actor said that his statement was not ‘infighting between JK Rowling and myself’, as he went on to declare: ‘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.’
Emma Watson and Rupert Grint joined Radcliffe in speaking out in support of the trans community at the time, while Voldemort actor Ralph Fiennes became the latest to put in his two pennies worth in October, slamming the abuse she has received.
Rowling has denied being transphobic but it an outspoken in her belief of ‘biological sex’ (Picture: Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty Images)
The author with Rupert Grint, Radcliffe and Emma Watson in 2001 (Picture: Gareth Davies/Getty Images)
‘The verbal abuse directed at her is disgusting, it’s appalling,’ he told The New York Times. ‘I mean, I can understand a viewpoint that might be angry at what she says about women. But it’s not some obscene, über-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.’
Other stars linked to the Harry Potter franchise have also supported her, including Hagrid actor Robbie Coltrane, who died in September aged 72.
When paying tribute to him in a recent radio interview, Miriam Margolyes also agreed with Coltrane that she would ‘absolutely not put her to one side’.
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‘I think that’s just silly. Let’s talk it through,’ she said on BBC Radio 4, while admitting it was ‘a difficult area, as a gay woman’ and that she wanted everybody ‘to do what they want’.
Tom Felton, who played Draco Malfoy in the films, recently swerved a question on the row, admitting he was ‘out of the loop with the specifics’ but praising Rowling as someone ‘that continues to bring so many people together’ through her writing.
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‘I don’t think I would’ve been able to look myself in the mirror had I not said anything.’
