Daniel Radcliffe ‘really sad’ about J.K. Rowling’s anti-trans rhetoric

By Lisa Respers France, CNN

(CNN) — Don’t look for Daniel Radcliffe and J.K. Rowling to reunite any time soon.

Radcliffe found fame as a child actor starring as Harry Potter in the film franchise based on Rowling’s wildly successful book series.

But the pair have split when it comes to trans rights.

In a recently published interview with The Atlantic, Radcliffe talked about Rowling’s past comments that have been perceived by many as anti-trans.

“It makes me really sad ultimately because I do look at the person that I met, the times that we met, and the books that she wrote, and the world that she created, and all of that is to me so deeply empathic,” he said, adding that he and Rowling have not been in contact in the past few years.

In 2020, Rowling posted a series of tweets in response to an article which used the phrase “people who menstruate” and has stated her view that the aspects of the trans movement are undermining women’s rights.

CNN has reached out to representatives for Rowling for comment.

Radcliffe released a statement via The Trevor Project shortly after Rowling’s posts in 2020.

“Transgender women are women,” he wrote in his statement. “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 [Rowling] or I.”

Radcliffe and his “Harry Potter” co-stars Emma Watson and Rupert Grint have individually expressed their support for the trans community, something the British media in particular has grabbed ahold of in terms of the cast members being at odds with the woman whose books helped give them careers.

“There’s a version of ‘Are these three kids ungrateful brats?’ that people have always wanted to write, and they were finally able to,” he told the Atlantic. “So, good for them, I guess.”

But while he notes that “obviously Harry Potter would not have happened without” Rowling and consequently “nothing in my life would have probably happened the way it is without that person,” he added, “But that doesn’t mean that you owe the things you truly believe to someone else for your entire life.”

Rowling recently posted on X (formerly known as Twitter) about a report whose findings she touted as confirmation of her views. A follower noted that they were “just waiting for Dan and Emma to give you a very public apology.”

Rowling responded, “Not safe, I’m afraid.” She characterized the trio as “celebs who cosied up to a movement intent on eroding women’s hard-won rights.”

“I will continue to support the rights of all LGBTQ people, and have no further comment than that,” Radcliffe told the Atlantic in response.

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