Daniel Radcliffe on JK Rowling rift: “It makes me really sad”

nme.com:

JK Rowling’s comments about the trans community.The author of the best-selling Harry Potter series has received significant backlash in recent years for anti-trans comments she has made online.Radcliffe, who played the famous wizard in the film series, has addressed Rowling’s comments previously, expressing his disagreement and lack of association with her views.Now, the actor responds again to her controversial comments in a new interview with The Atlantic.“It makes me really sad, ultimately,” he said. “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.”In 2020, Radcliffe defended the trans community in an essay he wrote for the Trevor Project, an organisation focused on suicide prevention among the LGBTQ+ community.In the essay, Radcliffe referenced Rowling, writing: “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.”Speaking to the publication at the time about his essay, Radcliffe expressed how he felt it would be “immense cowardice” to not speak out. “I wanted to try and help people that had been negatively affected by the comments,” he shared.