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Daniel Radcliffe: ‘I needed to say something’ amid JK Rowling trans row

"I don’t think I would’ve been able to look myself in the mirror had I not said anything," Daniel Radcliffe said.

By Emily Maskell

Daniel Radcliffe
Daniel Radcliffe says he "needed to say something" in response to JK Rowling's views on sex and gender (Image: Wiki Commons)

Daniel Radcliffe has opened up about his decision to publicly voice support for the transgender community in the wake of J.K. Rowling’s remarks.

Radcliffe, who rose to global fame playing Harry Potter, declared “trans women are women” in June 2020, shortly after to the 57-year-old author published an essay on transgender issues.

Now, Radcliffe, 33, has reflected on his own comments in a new interview.

“The reason I felt very, very much as though I needed to say something when I did was because, particularly since finishing ‘Potter,’ I’ve met so many queer and trans kids and young people who had a huge amount of identification with Potter on that,” Radcliffe recently told IndieWire.

“And so seeing them hurt on that day I was like, I wanted them to know that not everybody in the franchise felt that way,” he continued. “And that was really important.”

Radcliffe’s 2020 statement, via LGBTQ+ suicide prevention charity The Trevor Project, was an illuminating moment for the Harry Potter star to counter the message of the franchise’s creator.

“It was really important as I’ve worked with the Trevor Project for more than 10 years, and so I don’t think I would’ve been able to look myself in the mirror had I not said anything,” Radcliffe added. “But it’s not mine to guess what’s going on in someone else’s head.”

The actor’s 2020 messaging read: “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.

“To all the people who now feel that their experience of the [Harry Potter] books has been tarnished or diminished, I am deeply sorry for the pain these comments have caused you,” he added. 

Radcliffe expressed that hope that the “valuable” parts of the story about ‘the boy who lived’ could still be meaningful for readers and viewers.

Daniel Radcliffe is one of a number of Harry Potter actors who took a stance against Rowling’s views. 

Emma Watson, who played Hermione Granger, has also been vocal in supporting the trans community. She also declared at the 2022 BAFTAs, “I’m here for all of the witches.”

Tom Felton, who played Slytherin Draco Malfoy, has also recently distanced himself from Rowling’s ideas.

“I’m pro-choice, pro-discussion, pro-human rights across the board, and pro-love. And anything that is not those things, I don’t really have much time for,” Felton told The Independent.

He added that while Rowling is the founder of these stories, she had minimal involvement in the filming of the cinematic series, he recalls seeing her “once or twice on set.”

Despite Felton’s statement, last month Rowling replied to a tweet that asked how she slept at night knowing she’d lost many fans due to her due remarks about transgender people.

Rowling’s response read: “I read my most recent royalty cheques and find the pain goes away pretty quickly.”