It's a new day, which naturally means a new online tirade has been launched by controversial Harry Potter author JK Rowling.
Despite the success of her 'wizarding world' series and subsequent movie franchise, the best-selling writer, 58, has found herself in hot water with fans in recent years following a bunch of 'transphobic' statements.
So much so, that several members of the Harry Potter film series have explicitly distanced themself from her views.
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And this week, Rowling has once again revealed her distain for her former acting pals, branding them 'despicable' in a newly-released article.
Back in 2020, Rowling became a vocal trans-exclusionary radical feminist after publicly stating that she doesn’t believe trans people and trans women should be allowed the same rights as cis-women – specifically being allowed into female-only spaces.
In the wake of the criticism she received from fans, both Harry Potter frontman Daniel Radcliffe and Hermione Granger actor Emma Watson spoke out in support of trans people.
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Radcliffe wrote in an essay for The Trevor Project: "Transgender women are women.
"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."
And more recently, Radcliffe once again spoke out about his disagreements with Rowling, telling The Atlantic that it 'makes me really sad'.
He said: "It makes me really sad, ultimately, 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.
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"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."
JK has this week once again appeared to slam her former friends for supporting trans women.
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Writing for The Times, the author discussed her relationship with her former colleagues, saying: "People who’d worked with me rushed to distance themselves from me or to add their public condemnation of my blasphemous views (though I should add that many former and current colleagues have been staunchly supportive)."
Rowling refused to stop there, however, and spoke bitterly of 'certain female celebrities' - likely alluding to Beauty and The Beast actor Watson.
"I’ve listened as certain female celebrities insist that there isn’t the slightest risk to women and girls in allowing any man who self-identifies as a woman to enter single-sex spaces reserved for women, including changing rooms, bathrooms or rape shelters," she penned.
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The author added, however, that in spite of Radcliffe and Watson's distain, she still enjoys amicable relations with several other Harry Potter stars.
"In truth, the condemnation of certain individuals was far less surprising to me than the fact that some of them then emailed me, or sent messages through third parties, to check that we were still friends," she claimed.
"The thing is, those appalled by my position often fail to grasp how truly despicable I find theirs."
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact the LGBT Foundation on 0345 3 30 30 30, 10am–6pm Monday to Friday, or email [email protected]
Topics: Celebrity, Harry Potter, JK Rowling, TV And Film
Rhianna Benson