Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling has become a highly divisive figure since her feelings on gender and the trans community were made public some years ago, and the writer has continued to further alienate herself from her once loyal fanbase with what many perceive to be anti-trans rhetoric.
Rowling, who has been dubbed She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named in some Harry Potter fan circles, has always stuck to her guns and doubled-down on her views, and after recently calling out Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson, has now decided to put another actor from the Harry Potter movies on blast.
David Tennant, who played the evil Barty Crouch Jr. in the franchise, was present at the British LGBT Awards to accept the LGBT+ Celebrity Ally award. During his speech, the actor referred to ant-trans activists as "a tiny bunch of little whinging [frick]ers who’re on the wrong side of history, and they’ll all go away soon.”
Rowling later responded via X.
She later added: “This man is talking about rape survivors who want female-only care, the nurses currently suing their health trust for making them change in front of a man, girls and women losing sporting opportunities to males and female prisoners incarcerated with convicted sex offenders.”
Last year, Warner Bros. Discovery officially announced that a new Harry Potter series is currently being developed for the HBO Max streaming service. The show will fully reboot the popular movies with an entirely new cast, and the plan is to re-adapt the source novels with each season dedicated to one of the seven books.
The news received a somewhat mixed response, and not just because so many fans feel that the films adapted the story perfectly well. The fact that Rowling is involved has come in for a lot of backlash, but HBO Chairman Casey Bloys dismissed concerns as a "very online conversation" at the time.
More recently, WBD boss David Zaslav mentioned that he flew to London to meet with Rowling about the show.
“We spent some real time with J.K. and her team,” Zaslav said. “Both sides are just thrilled to be reigniting this franchise. Our conversations were great, and we couldn’t be more excited about what’s ahead. We can’t wait to share a decade of new stories with fans around the world on Max.”