“I’ve met so many queer and trans kids and young people who had a huge amount of identification with Potter on that. Seeing them hurt, I wanted them to know not everybody in the franchise felt that way.”
At this point, “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling’s transphobia is widely known, so vehemently has she used her international notoriety to spew hateful views against the most vulnerable segment of the LGBTQ+ community. Fans of her popular books and films have been blindsided, shocked, and left scratching their heads as to why the author of a seemingly positive fantasy tale about acceptance of differences would become so radicalized against a single marginalized group.
But Daniel Radcliffe, who rose to international fame playing “the boy who lived” onscreen, is most concerned about the young trans fans who have felt betrayed and hurt deeply by Rowling’s dangerous comments.
“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. 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 told IndieWire during a recent interview.
Radcliffe is referring to an open letter he penned in June of 2020, which clearly and definitively stated his unwavering support for transgender people. “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 wrote at the time. The letter was published on website of The Trevor Project, an organization that runs the world’s largest suicide prevention hotline for LGBTQ+ youth. Radcliffe has been an outspoken supporter of The Trevor Project since 2010.
“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,” he told IndieWire. “But it’s not mine to guess what’s going on in someone else’s head.”
Radcliffe can next be seen taking a wacky comedic turn in “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story,” where he plays the parody singer in a zany and loosely interpreted faux biopic. The film premieres on The Roku Channel on Friday, November 4, and more from Radcliffe’s interview with IndieWire is to follow.
In a new interview with IndieWire, Radcliffe explained that he shared his statement — in which he wrote in part that "transgender women are women" and "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 [Rowling] or I" — because he felt he needed to say something to Harry Potter fans specifically.
"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. 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 told the outlet.
Radcliffe first joined the Trevor Project's Circle of Hope, a community of major donors which plays an essential role in the financial leadership of the organization, in 2009. The Trevor Project is the leading national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning youth.
The actor's recent comments come on the heels of another Potter alum — Voldemort actor Ralph Fiennes — coming to Rowling's defense in an interview with The New York Times, in which he called "the verbal abuse" directed at the author "disgusting" and "appalling." Fiennes added, "I mean, I can understand a viewpoint that might be angry at what she says about women. But it's not some obscene, über-right-wing fascist. It's just a woman saying, 'I'm a woman and I feel I'm a woman and I want to be able to say that I'm a woman.' And I understand where she's coming from. Even though I'm not a woman."
Earlier this year and while appearing on The View, co-host Ana Navarro asked Radcliffe about the rumors he was next to play Wolverine, something that he denied.
“This is something that comes up every so often, I think because in the comics Wolverine is short, so every so often they’re like, ‘Who’s a short actor?’ There’s never been any actual truth to it,” he said on the ABC talk show. “Every so often I get bored of answering the questions sensibly, so I just make a joke like I did the other day and that sort of has reignited the rumors of it, but there’s nothing going on.”
The only thing that is certain, is that for now, Wolverine will be continued to be portrayed by Jackman. In September of this year, Jackman confirmed he would be reprising his role as Wolverine for Deadpool 3 which is expected to be released on November 8, 2024.
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