Formerly beloved Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling has done a decent job of demolishing her once sterling reputation over the last few years. Now, after a series of transphobic tweets over the weekend, many have written her off altogether. Her bizarre and unprovoked pronouncements sounded more like the kind of stuff you’d read on Breitbart rather than something a cuddly British liberal would say. As such, her massive millennial and zoomer fanbase has dropped her like a hot rock.
But it’s not all doom and gloom for the Wizarding World. The Boy Who Lived has stood up to raise the flag for trans rights. Daniel Radcliffe has made a lengthy statement on The Trevor Project’s website, an organization providing advice and suicide prevention services to young LGBTQ people. Radcliffe has supported them for a decade and spoke up for its cause and the people they seek to help, saying:
Transgender women are women. 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 Jo or I. According to The Trevor Project, 78% of transgender and nonbinary youth reported being the subject of discrimination due to their gender identity. It’s clear that we need to do more to support transgender and nonbinary people, not invalidate their identities, and not cause further harm.
He went on to apologize to Harry Potter fans, hoping that Rowling’s bigoted comments won’t sully the books’ messages of love, friendship and pushing back against oppression. Radcliffe’s statement has gone down so well, in fact, that fans are ready to just pretend that he wrote the novels and airbrush Rowling out of the picture.
https://twitter.com/emiliaheards/status/1270165590561390593?s=20
I’m so emotional about Daniel Radcliffe shutting JKR’s shit down 😭 He wrote Harry Potter. I will not acknowledge any other author at this time thank you pic.twitter.com/4haBprTRQj
— ✨in my ømega era again✨ (@pizzzazlut) June 9, 2020
im so glad danniel radcliffe wrote harry potter series, he’s honestly such a good writer and a great human being.
— m⁷ (@snowfairyg) June 9, 2020
https://twitter.com/darlingcrow/status/1270185283775053824?s=20
https://twitter.com/chloecastrosan1/status/1270172445543215109?s=20
https://twitter.com/_realshaymarie/status/1269874362020052992?s=20
I can’t believe Daniel Radcliffe really wrote all the Harry Potter books by himself… pic.twitter.com/MSjPRd48OR
— Liv Favaro (@liv_freely) June 8, 2020
https://twitter.com/burubado_furry/status/1269872772894711808?s=20
Daniel Radcliffe was only 8 when he wrote Harry Potter https://t.co/pHOzeV3l3s
— Shadow Moises Caicedo (@ThyKingdomScum) June 8, 2020
I can’t believe Daniel Radcliffe wrote all seven Harry Potter books and starred in all eight film adaptations he is truly unbelievable!
— crix👾🇵🇸 (@crixare4kids) June 7, 2020
Who tf is jk rowling and why are we pretending daniel radcliffe wrote Harry Potter?? He actually did, it’s rude to diminish his achievements like that :/ https://t.co/oOCQok3T0a
— alex 🍉 (@ag3729) June 7, 2020
So, there you have it, the fandom has decided. Of course, all of this will have Warner Bros., who’re gearing up for Fantastic Beasts 3, holding their head in their hands in dismay. Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald was already an unexpected flop and has resulted in a course-correction for the series (and much of the blame was laid on Rowling’s screenplay), so they last thing they need right now is a negative PR storm around the franchise.
I’m with the fans on this, though. Daniel Radcliffe is very talented for being able to both star in and write the Harry Potter books. J.K. who? Roland Barthes would be proud.