Trending 9th June 2020 by Amie Edmonds

Daniel Radcliffe Has Responded To JK Rowling’s ‘Anti-Trans Comments’

"It means to you what it means to you and I hope that these comments will not taint that too much."

 

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Daniel Radcliffe, who is best known for his legendary role as Harry Potter, has spoken out about JK Rowling’s comments on transgender people. In a series of tweets over the weekend, Harry Potter author JK Rowling, where she seemed to take an issue with an article promoting healthcare equality, titled Opinion: Creating a more equal post-COVID-19 world for people who menstruate.

Following the tweet, many criticised Rowling for making “anti-trans comments” – which she strongly denied as “nonsense”. Daniel Radcliffe then had his say, in a blog post for the LGBT suicide prevention charity The Trevor Project, writing that while Rowling “is unquestionably responsible for the course my life has taken… as a human being, I feel compelled to say something at this moment”.

He said this was not about “in-fighting between JK Rowling and myself”, adding: “Transgender women are women.”

He then continued, “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.”

“It’s clear that we need to do more to support transgender and non-binary people, not invalidate their identities, and not cause further harm.”

 

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The Harry Potter star then added that he hoped fans can still enjoy the series of Harry Potter books and films, “to all the people who now feel that their experience of the books has been tarnished or diminished, I am deeply sorry for the pain these comments have caused you. I really hope that you don’t entirely lose what was valuable in these stories to you.”

He then added, “if these books taught you that love is the strongest force in the universe, capable of overcoming anything; if they taught you that strength is found in diversity, and that dogmatic ideas of pureness lead to the oppression of vulnerable groups; if you believe that a particular character is trans, non-binary, or gender fluid, or that they are gay or bisexual; if you found anything in these stories that resonated with you and helped you at any time in your life – then that is between you and the book that you read, and it is sacred.

“And in my opinion, nobody can touch that. It means to you what it means to you and I hope that these comments will not taint that too much.”

Well, fair play to you Daniel!

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