Daniel Radcliffe has described his widening rift with J.K. Rowling over trans rights as "really sad."
The "Harry Potter" star opened up about his sentiment on the matter with The Atlantic in an interview that came weeks after Rowling suggested on social media he and co-star Emma Watson were "celebs who cosied up to a movement intent on eroding women's hard-won rights and who used their platforms to cheer on the transitioning of minors."
Their dispute with Rowling dates back to 2020 when the author posted several controversial tweets that were widely deemed as "transphobic." Radcliffe responded in a statement at the time defending transgender rights through LGBTQ+ suicide-prevention group the Trevor Project.
Speaking to The Atlantic, the actor explained he had been working with the organization for 12 years "and it would have seemed like, I don't know, immense cowardice to me to not say something."
"I wanted to try and help people that had been negatively affected by the comments. And to say that if those are Jo's views, then they are not the views of everybody associated with the Potter franchise," he said.
"I did have a realization of a connection to 'Harry Potter' and this stuff. A lot of people found some solace in those books and films who were dealing with feeling closeted or rejected by their family or living with a secret," he continued, adding that he has not had direct contact with Rowling since the controversy erupted.
"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.
In 2020, Radcliffe and Watson were joined by fellow "Harry Potter" co-star Rupert Grint in opposing Rowling's position. At the time, Radcliffe noted that Harry Potter would not have happened without Rowling, "so nothing in my life would have probably happened the way it is without that person," according to The Guardian.
"But that doesn't mean that you owe the things you truly believe to someone else for your entire life," he continued.
"I will continue to support the rights of all LGBTQ people, and have no further comment than that."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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