KEY POINTS

  • Daniel Radcliffe reacted to J.K. Rowling's anti-transgender tweets
  • The actor apologized to "Harry Potter" fans following the controversy
  • Rowling under fire for her transphobic posts on Twitter

Daniel Radcliffe reacted to J.K. Rowling’s transphobic tweets and apologized to “Harry Potter” fans.

Last weekend, Rowling made a stir with her anti-transgender tweets. The “Fantastic Beasts” author reacted to an op-ed entitled “Creating a more equal post-COVID-19 world for people who menstruate.” She said those individuals are called women.

The LGBT community reacted with dismay because it appeared to them that the popular author does not recognize transgender women. “Harry Potter” fans then expressed their disappointment over the issue.

On Monday (June 8), Radcliffe, who is mostly known for playing the young wizard in the “Harry Potter” movies spoke up on the issue. Just like many, he didn’t agree with Rowling, but the actor made it clear that even if they don’t share the same perspective, there is no conflict between them. He just felt compelled to say something about the issue.

“Transgender women are women,” Radcliffe wrote for The Trevor Project.

“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.”

The actor urged the public to support the transgender community and not invalidate their identities or further harm them. Radcliffe also issued an apology to “Harry Potter” fans who were hurt by Rowling’s tweets. He hopes that they would hold on to the lessons they learned from the book.

“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 added.

Radcliffe also reminded the fans that if they found anything in the books that resonated with them whether they identify a character as trans, nonbinary or gender fluid they should keep it because “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,” he concluded.

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Daniel Radcliffe at the Tommy Hilfiger Dinner in celebration of the 12th Zurich Film Festival on Sept. 30, 2016 in Zurich, Switzerland. Andreas Rentz/Getty Images for Tommy Hilfiger