OK then .
The controversy around J.K. Rowling’s involvement in HBO’s upcomingHarry PotterTV series continues apace.
Unless you have been living under a literal rock, you probably know that the author has spent the majority of her post-Harry Pottercareer spending time — and money — essentially pushing back against the mere notion of trans rights.
As a result, the series itself has become a hotbed of discourse and criticism.BridgertonstarNicola Coughlanrecently took to IG tospeak outagainst theauthor, the show,andthe recent UK Supreme Court’s unanimousrulingthat a “woman” in equality legislation should be defined as referring to a “biological woman and biological sex.”
The backlash has also reached those who have been announced as the show’s cast, to varying degrees. This past week, Paapa Essiedu — who, as of this moment, is booked to portray Severus Snape in the series — was one of many British actors whosigned an open lettersupporting trans rights in response to the Supreme Court ruling.
On the other side of things,John Lithgow— who is seeminglyverycommitted to portraying Albus Dumbledore for the show — recently gave an interview in which hedismissedthe backlash, even after a friend with a trans daughter had reached out to him personally about his decision to star in the show.
Another much less surprising person who seemingly doesn’t have any issue with J.K.’s involvement is HBO CEO Casey Bloys, who addressed the controversy head-on on a recent episode ofThe Townpodcast.
“I think it’s pretty clear those are her personal political views,” he added. “She’s entitled to them. And if you want to debate her, you can go on Twitter.”
Casey also claimed that the upcoming show isn’t being “secretly infused” with J.K.’s views in general. “And she’s entitled to those views. And I think people are pretty clear that she’s entitled to them.”
Whatever. This story’s definitely not leaving the news cycle any time soon, so rest assured we’ll be back with more updates.
