Another Harry Potter actress publicly confronts J.K. Rowling and her ideology

J.K. Rowling is the author of one of the most beloved book franchises in history, Harry Potter. She is also a person who, for years now, has been more famous for her offensive outbursts on social media and her fight to deprive large groups of people, such as trans people, of their rights. Something that has turned much of her fanbase, and even many of the people she has worked with, against her. Something that includes the three lead actors from her films, now joined by Bel Powley.

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An actress who isn’t afraid

Powley, who plays Petunia Dursley in the upcoming HBO series, shared her thoughts on J.K. Rowling and her crusade against trans people in an interview with The Telegraph. And she doesn’t seem worried about the repercussions. “I totally disagree with J.K. Rowling’s views on gender. I think the trans community deserves safety and dignity and respect and full acceptance.” She also added that she accepted the role because “I love ‘Harry Potter’. I grew up with the books. I’m from that first generation of readers and I love the magical and the ghostly”.

All of this may well hurt Powley. Rowling is an executive producer on the series and, just a few weeks ago, publicly attacked Amnesty International because, in the UK, they published a critical article that named her among the people encouraging hatred toward trans people. Which forced Amnesty International to retract that article, with disastrous PR consequences for the organization.

How this will turn out for Powley remains to be seen. It seems unlikely they could recast her role, since the series premieres on HBO Max on December 25. But to find out, we’ll have to see how Rowling responds to these comments, now more focused on these issues than on her writing.