Matthew Lewis
"Harry Potter" star Matthew Lewis is getting some flak for his June cover of Attitude magazine. Courtesy of Attitude magazine

Not everyone is a fan of Matthew Lewis’ latest magazine spread. A British gay magazine recently released its June cover, featuring the 25-year-old “Harry Potter” actor in barely-there attire, prompting a gentle scolding from the blockbuster series' author, J.K. Rowling.

It all started on Thursday when the British actor retweeted Attitude’s post about his cover. “We’re so excited to unveil our new cover star,” read the post, which was accompanied by an image of Lewis lifting his shirt and showing off his sixpack. Other images from the spread show Lewis, who played Neville Longbottom in the boy wizard franchise for 10 years, posing in just his underwear and a green sweater.

In response, Rowling took to Twitter to share her displeasure with the photo shoot. According to the 49-year-old bestselling author, Lewis’ photos were not as bad as watching the film’s star, Daniel Radcliffe, acting in the buff on Broadway. “Not as bad as watching Dan in Equus, but close,” she wrote. She finished her post asking Lewis to give her a heads-up next time he poses nearly nude. “Warn me next time, for God’s sake."

Lewis apologized to Rowling on Twitter, and she responded:

While Rowling was bothered, many of Lewis’ fans were thrilled. On Thursday, his name was a top trending topic on Twitter in the U.S., Canada and Brazil. For those who want to see more of the actor’s barely-there shoot, he posted a behind-the-scenes photo of himself wearing just sweatpants and sneakers from the project on Instagram last month. “Bit cold in the studio today @attitudemag #photoshoot,” he wrote.

The magazine is featuring Lewis as one of two cover models for its swimwear and underwear issue. In his interview, he discusses his coming film “Me Before You” and his body transformation post “Harry Potter” fame.

“I was excited, I guess, to go on the red carpet on the release of the last film and be me, and not to have to have the fat suit under my T-shirt,” he told the magazine. “It was quite an exciting buzz.”