Two actors from the new 'Harry Potter' series, against the author's transphobic opinions

BarcelonaOne of the actresses in the new audiovisual adaptation of the Harry Potter sagaHarry Potter, Bel Powley, has lashed out against the "gender opinions" of the book's author and executive producer of the series, J.K. Rowling. She is the performer who will embody Petunia Dursley, the aunt of the young wizard Harry Potter. In an interview with the British publication The Telegraph,Powley has not hesitated to position herself against the ideology and comments that the writer has made in recent years about trans people. "I believe that the trans community deserves safety, dignity, respect, and full acceptance," the actress stated.

Powley is the second of the adaptation's stars to make their differences with the author public. The first was actor John Lithgow – who will play Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore – who, at the beginning of the year, in an interview with Variety during the Rotterdam Film Festival, described as "ironic" and “inexplicable” how Rowling has been able to create, through her books, a story about "evil versus good" and "kindness versus cruelty" while simultaneously holding trans-exclusionary views. In both cases, the actors have stated that, despite their differences with the writer and the demands they have received from the public to withdraw from the project, they will continue with the audiovisual adaptation of the saga.

"I love Harry Potter. I grew up with these books. I am part of that first generation of readers and, I reiterate, I love the magic and everything mysterious about it," Powley emphasized. For his part, Lithgow explained that "the reasons for doing it [the adaptation] were much more powerful than the reasons for protesting what Rowling has said and done." "I take this topic and this issue very seriously. J.K. Rowling has created an incredible canon for young people; it is children's literature that has resonated with society's consciousness," the actor added.

Rowling's controversy

For years, J.K. Rowling has publicly expressed opinions against transsexual people through interviews and social media. Last year, the writer applauded Donald Trump for the abolition of rights for trans people. Through that decree, the President of the United States prohibited trans women from participating in women's leagues.

"Gender ideology has undermined freedom of expression, scientific truth, the rights of homosexuals, and the safety, privacy, and dignity of women and girls. It has also caused irreparable physical harm to vulnerable children," the writer wrote in a tweet, insisting on her political stance. In addition, in 2024, Rowling discredited the gender identity of then-professional women's football coach Lucy Clark, whom she described as a "white, middle-aged, heterosexual man."whom she described as a "white, middle-aged, heterosexual man".

The new series of Harry Potter is a HBO Max production directed by Mark Mylod and starring Dominic McLaughlin (Harry Potter), Arabella Stanton (Hermione), and Alastair Stout (Ron). The audiovisual adaptation of the saga, scheduled to premiere next year, follows the journey of the famous books by J.K. Rowling and will narrate the story of young Harry, the discovery of his magic, and his journey to Hogwarts.