“Harry Potter” leading actor Daniel Radcliffe has posted a lengthy response today to controversial tweets posted by the book series’ author J.K. Rowling over the weekend, said tweets dealing with her views on transgender people.
The 30-year-old Radcliffe penned an essay on the non-profit organisation The Trevor Project website, a site dedicated to crisis intervention and suicide prevention for LGBTQ people.
Rowling, who has come under fire before for similar comments on social media, posted a series of tweets arguing that discussion of gender identity invalidates biological sex. She once again was criticized by an array of people for denying the lived consequences of trans people’s experiences, with the push back against her greater than ever.
Radcliffe’s essay on Monday acknowledged the media may paint his statement as ‘in-fighting between J.K. Rowling and myself,’ and he made it clear Rowling was “unquestionably responsible” for the course of his life. But he felt he had to speak out:
“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.
According to The Trevor Project, 78% of transgender and nonbinary youth reported being the subject of discrimination due to their gender identity. It’s clear that we need to do more to support transgender and nonbinary people, not invalidate their identities, and not cause further harm.
As someone who has been honored to work with and continues to contribute to The Trevor Project for the last decade, and just as a human being, I feel compelled to say something at this moment.
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.”
The full statement can be read on the website. The controversy comes as Rowling remains the writer on the “Fantastic Beasts” franchise which still has three more films to come. That series remains a source of controversy over the inclusion of Johnny Depp, along with the fact critics were not fans and the movies underwhelmed – especially the recent second entry.
Source: Towleroad
