The Harry Potter franchise may be cursed, but Daniel Radcliffe is thankfully immune to its evil spell. The Weird: The Al Yankovic Story actor recently spoke on his decision to cut ties with JK Rowling for her anti-trans sentiments.
In 2020, Radcliffe wrote an open letter denouncing Rowling’s TERF comments. In a recent interview with IndieWire, Radcliffe expanded on his choice to speak out.
“The reason I was 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,” he explained. “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. And that was really important.”
Radcliffe, a longtime spokesperson for the LGBTQ+ lifeline The Trevor Project, has always placed his commitment to the queer community first.
“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 explained. “But it’s not mine to guess what’s going on in someone else’s head.”
But not everyone was pleased with Radcliffe’s decision to support the trans community. No sooner did the IndieWire interview surface than a Telegraph op-ed came out claiming that Radcliffe’s actions showed ingratitude toward Rowling after she created the franchise that made him famous.
To which queer Twitter responded, f*ck right off!
No one says this when Harrison Ford disses Star Wars.
No one says this when Jamie Lee Curtis disses horror.
The big difference here is that Radcliffe said he defends trans rights. And that is enough for the outrage.
It’s artificial controversy, brewed to dismiss dissent. pic.twitter.com/HOT5wrtJZC
— Ant 💀 an illiterate, mentally broken psychopath (@AGramuglia) November 3, 2022
Daniel Radcliffe was already a successful child actor, the son of a casting director, when he landed the role of Harry Potter. That role was cast by a casting director (Janet Hirshenson) and director Chris Columbus, not JK Rowling. He doesn’t owe her shit.
— Louisa 🌈👭 (@LouisatheLast) November 3, 2022
It’s called acting, sweaty!
I love how some people are like “How dare Daniel Radcliffe speak out against J.K. Rowling? She made him famous!”
HIS INCREDIBLE ACTING SKILLS MADE HIM FAMOUS
— Mx. Amanda Jetté Knox (@MavenOfMayhem) November 3, 2022
I can confirm that Daniel Radcliffe is one of the most grateful, kind, empathic, modest and generous human beings I’ve ever met. He made an effort to learn the names of all our crew members, HODs and assistants, so he could greet them. Once a crew member dropped a roll of…. https://t.co/yqWRF67klY
— Jason Takes Manhattan (@JasonLeiHowden) November 4, 2022
But we already knew Radcliffe was a stand-up guy. He’s been standing up for us for awhile.
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