Daniel Radcliffe makes rare comments on JK Rowling’s views on gender: ‘It makes me really sad’

Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe has restated his support for “all” LGBTQ people, adding that JK Rowling’s views on gender make him “really sad.”

Radcliffe, who starred in eight films based on Rowling’s best-selling book series, made the rare comments in an interview with The Atlantic.

In a profile published yesterday, the star furthermore added that although “nothing in my life would have probably happened” without Rowling, he doesn’t “owe the things you truly believe to someone else.”

“There’s a version of ‘Are these three kids ungrateful brats?'” – Daniel Radcliffe

“It makes me really sad, ultimately,” the 34-year-old told the outlet, “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.”

Elsewhere in the interview, the Kill Your Darlings star said: “Jo, obviously Harry Potter would not have happened without her, so nothing in my life would have probably happened the way it is without that person. But that doesn’t mean that you owe the things you truly believe to someone else for your entire life.”

Speaking of his co-stars Rupert Grint and Emma Watson, who are also publicly supportive of trans people, Radcliffe went on: “There’s a version of ‘Are these three kids ungrateful brats?’ that people have always wanted to write, and they were finally able to. So, good for them, I guess.”

Concluding his thoughts, the star said: “I will continue to support the rights of all LGBTQ people, and have no further comment than that.”

“If sex isn’t real, there’s no same-sex attraction” – JK Rowling

Rowling first publicly shared her views on gender in 2020 a series of headline-generating tweets, taking issue with the phrase “people who menstruate” in an op-ed title.

“‘People who menstruate.’ I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?” she said.

She then added: “If sex isn’t real, there’s no same-sex attraction. If sex isn’t real, the lived reality of women globally is erased. I know and love trans people, but erasing the concept of sex removes the ability of many to meaningfully discuss their lives. It isn’t hate to speak the truth.”

At the time, Radcliffe responded via a statement with the Trevor Project, a non-profit supporting LGBTQ youth. In it, he said: “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.”

“Save their apologies”

Last month, Rowling replied to an X commentator who said: “Just waiting for Dan and Emma to give you a very public apology … safe in the knowledge that you will forgive them.”

“Not safe, I’m afraid,” the 58-year-old replied. “Celebs who cosied up to a movement intent on eroding women’s hard-won rights and who used their platforms to cheer on the transitioning of minors can save their apologies for traumatised detransitioners and vulnerable women reliant on single sex spaces.”