Good news, everyone: our new Hagrid isn’t a transphobe. Er, at least he’s not as transphobic as JK Rowling — though that’s a painfully low bar.
Actor Nick Frost, who’ll be playing Hagrid in the upcoming Harry Potter reboot series on HBO, recently shared his perspective on Rowling’s infamous anti-trans views. In a recent interview with The Observer, Frost explained that after posting about his role in the series, he had to disable his Instagram comments due to backlash from folks disappointed that he’d work with Rowling and thus apparently support her TERF ideology.
“She’s allowed her opinion and I’m allowed mine,” Frost said. “They just don’t align in any way, shape or form.”
At first glance, it’s a nice sentiment. Frost says his views don’t align with Rowling’s at all — ostensibly, that means he’s in favor of trans rights. But as folks across the internet pointed out, disagreeing with Rowling doesn’t mean much while actively helping her make money off of the Harry Potter franchise — money that will actively go toward dismantling trans folks’ rights in the UK thanks to Rowling’s recently announced anti-trans legal fund.
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“i don’t think everyone who works on the harry potter show shares jk rowling’s views on trans rights,” wrote influencer Zoë Rose Bryant in response to Frost’s statement. “however, excluding the children, i do think they all decided that a fat check mattered more than not being part of a project that’ll fund her anti-trans crusade for years to come.”
Frost also chimed in on whether he thinks Rowling’s controversy could overshadow the series. “I don’t know,” he said. “But maybe it shouldn’t blow over? We shouldn’t just hope it will go away, because it makes it easier. Maybe we should educate ourselves.”
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Frost, at the very least, seems well-intentioned — something that can’t be said for fellow Harry Potter star Tom Felton, who made headlines at this Sunday’s Tony Awards for his comments on Rowling. Felton is reprising his film role of Draco Malfoy, this time on Broadway in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. On the red carpet, Felton was asked if Rowling’s “Twitterverse controversy” — a very generous way to refer to her rampant transphobic posting — impacts him at all.
“No, I can’t say it does. I’m not really that attuned to it,” Felton replied. “The thing I remind myself is that I’ve been lucky enough to travel the world…and I have not seen anything bring the world together more than Potter.”
That’s a privileged take if we’ve ever heard one. But whether you’re a Frost or a Felton, you’re lining Rowling’s pockets with more Harry Potter moolah. If actors truly want to be allies to trans folks, they’ve got to cut out involvement with the franchise entirely.
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