Daniel Radcliffe hits back at claims he ‘owes' JK Rowling after being called ungrateful
Daniel Radcliffe is lifting the lid on his feelings toward JK Rowling.
The Harry Potter star shot to worldwide stardom after starring as the lead in the well-loved wizarding world.
But his relationship with Harry Potter author Rowling has been strained in recent years following her comments about the trans community.
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Back in 2020, Rowling caused a stir while poking fun at a charity for using the term 'people who menstruate'.
"'People who menstruate.' I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud," she wrote in the controversial tweet.
She's since spoken publicly about views on sex and gender, many of which people haven't agreed with - the Harry Potter cast included.
In fact, the likes of Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint have all spoken out in support of LGBTQ+ communities worldwide in response to Rowling's remarks.
Following the apparent fallout between the actors and Rowling, some have suggested that the cast are 'ungrateful' because they might not have become so successful without the Harry Potter books.
Addressing this, Radcliffe said about the press in a new interview with The Atlantic: "There’s a version of ‘Are these three kids ungrateful brats?’ that people have always wanted to write, and they were finally able to. So, good for them, I guess."
Further going on to note that Rowling's work has made a huge impact on his life, the 34-year-old went on: "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."
He said that the whole thing 'makes him really sad, ultimately', adding: "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."
In light of the likes of Radcliffe and Watson speaking out in favor of the trans community, Rowling recently seemed to imply that she wouldn't forgive celebrities 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'.
What the other Harry Potter stars have said about JK Rowling and her comments on the trans community:
Rupert Grint
The Ron actor said in a statement in 2020: "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."
He added in an interview with The Times two years later: "I liken JK Rowling to an auntie. I don’t necessarily agree with everything my auntie says, but she’s still my auntie. It’s a tricky one."
Ralph Fiennes
The Voldemort actor told The New York Times in 2022: "The verbal abuse directed at her is disgusting, it’s appalling.
"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.’"
Harry Melling
Harry Melling in Harry Potter. (Warner Bros)
Melling, who played Dudley Dursley, told the Independent in 2022: "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."
Evanna Lynch
Lynch played Luna Lovegood in the films and told the Telegraph: "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."
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact the LGBT national hotline at 888-843-4564, available Monday to Friday 4pm-12am ET and 12pm-5pm ET on Saturdays.
Topics: Daniel Radcliffe, JK Rowling, Harry Potter, LGBTQ, Transgender, Celebrity
Niamh Shackleton