Gender-fluid comedian and actor Eddie Izzard has defended Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling, revealing that she doesn’t think the author/screenwriter is transphobic.
Rowling has successfully transformed herself from famous to infamous over the past year, after sharing many controversial opinions online that have been viewed by a lot of people as anti-trans in nature, resulting in her once spotless reputation taking a massive hit. Since her thoughts on matters such as non-binary bathrooms, gender reassignment surgery and more became clear, many colleagues, contemporaries and Harry Potter stars have distanced themselves from the author, including the likes of Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Eddie Redmayne.
Some have defended her against the backlash, though, including various British writers and famous faces who signed an open letter blasting “cancel culture.” Someone else who’s now come to Rowling’s defense is the aforementioned Izzard.
Most known for roles in the likes of Hannibal, Cars 2 and Ocean’s Thirteen, she recently entered the news again after confirming that they now use she/her pronouns. And in an interview with The Telegraph, Izzard revealed that she doesn’t view Rowling as transphobic and encouraged women and trans people to stop “fighting between ourselves.”
“I don’t think J.K. Rowling is transphobic. I think we need to look at the things she has written about in her blog. Women have been through such hell over history. Trans people have been invisible, too. I hate the idea we are fighting between ourselves, but it’s not going to be sorted with the wave of a wand. I don’t have all the answers. If people disagree with me, fine—but why are we going through hell on this?”
J.K. Rowling herself has frequently maintained that she’s not anti-trans and that she has many trans friends who agree with her views, so she would likely feel vindicated by these comments. That said, Izzard makes clear that this is her own personal opinion and understands people will disagree with her on it.
Who knows, maybe this endorsement will even lead to Eddie Izzard landing a role in one of the Fantastic Beasts movies?
Published: Jan 6, 2021 1:37 PM UTC