Keira Knightley defends decision to join Harry Potter series amid JK Rowling controversy

Keira Knightley has issued an apology after it was announced that she'd be joining the voice cast of an upcoming Harry Potter audiobook series.

The 40-year-old is voicing Professor Dolores Umbridge in Audible’s seven-part audiobook adaptation of Harry Potter, joining the likes of Hugh Laurie, who's voicing Albus Dumbledore, as well as Matthew Macfadyen taking on Lord Voldemort in the ever-growing cast.

The franchise's author, J.K. Rowling, is also involved in the wizarding project by producing the audiobook series with her Pottermore Publishing company and Audible.

However, over the past few years, she has caused some considerable controversy for her views on the transgender community.

Some of the controversies included ‘liking’ derogatory tweets about the transgender movement, which she later said in a statement had been a mistake, and celebrating the UK Supreme Court's decision on what legally defines a woman earlier this year, which did not include transgender women.

Keira Knightley is joining the Harry Potter audiobook series as Professor Dolores Umbridge (Arnold Jerocki/Getty Images)

Rowling's comments have led to some backlash, including some of the actors from the Harry Potter film series.

The franchise's main three actors, Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint, all spoke out in defence of the transgender community, with the 60-year-old responding to Radcliffe and Watson by claiming she'd 'never forgive' the actors for having 'cosied up to a movement intent on eroding women’s hard-won rights'.

Because of these instances, many people are hesitant to support the Wizarding World franchise and have been 'calling for a Harry Potter boycott', a topic Knightley was asked about by the Decider.

She responded: "I was not aware of that, no. I’m very sorry.

"I think we’re all living in a period of time right now where we’re all going to have to figure out how to live together, aren’t we?

"And we’ve all got very different opinions. I hope that we can all find respect."

Watson recently spoke about her and Rowling's difference in opinions, telling Jay Shetty on his podcast: "I really don’t believe that by having had that experience and holding the love and support and views that I have, mean that I can’t and don’t treasure Jo and the person that I had personal experiences with.

JK Rowling's views on the transgender community has sparked a lot of backlash (Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images)

"I will never believe that one negates the other, and that my experience of that person, I don’t get to keep and cherish. To come back to our earlier thing – I just don’t think these things are either/or.

"I think it’s my deepest wish that I hope people who don’t agree with my opinion will love me, and I hope I can keep loving people who I don’t necessarily share the same opinion with."

Radcliffe had also previously addressed where he and Rowling stood, telling The Atlantic that it 'makes me really sad, ultimately'.

Rowling has since responded to the Little Women star in a lengthy post on X (formerly Twitter), where she said she wanted to 'make a couple of points' after seeing 'quite a bit of comment' about her interview.