A Harry Potter star has spoken out in defence of JK Rowling over her controversial views on transgender rights. The author of the multi-billion franchise, who is from Yate in South Gloucestershire, has divided opinion for many over the years on the LGBTQ+ community.
Rowling's thoughts on the topic first came to light in 2020 after slamming the term "people who menstruate" being used to replace the word 'woman' in a tweet which sparked an angry debate on social media. Many people, including celebrities, criticised her tweet as being "anti-trans" and "transphobic", noting that transgender, non-binary and gender non-conforming people can also have periods.
According to the Mirror, the writer addressed the backlash against her in an essay, whilst also sharing her own experiences of allegedly overcoming domestic abuse and sexual assault. Following this, she was hit by further backlash by actors from the Harry Potter franchise like Rupert Grint, Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson, who are now using their platforms to support trans rights.
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The actor who played Luna Lovegood, Evanna Lynch, has taken JK Rowling's side after encouraging that others "listen" to the author's opposing views, despite not wanting to "add to [trans peoples'] pain."
She told The Telegraph , reflecting on her own journey with anorexia: “I didn’t even know there were two sides. I had a view of, like, good and bad. I do have compassion for both sides of the argument. 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.”
She continued to explain: “I do also think it’s important that JK Rowling has been amplifying the voices of de-transitioners. I had this impulse to go, ‘Let’s all just stop talking about it’, and I think probably I’m a bit braver now about having uncomfortable conversations.”
The 31-year-old Irish actor also added that she was shocked that Rowling continued to garner such backlash, “especially when she wrote her essay”, in which she opened up about personal events during her life.
“I just felt that her character has always been to advocate for the most vulnerable members of society. The problem is that there’s a disagreement over who’s the most vulnerable. I do wish people would just give her more grace and listen to her,” she concluded.
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