Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling took some time this weekend during the ongoing pandemic and global Black Lives Matter protests to mock the concept of being transgender on Twitter. If she has all this time on her hands, presumably she will also have time to read Daniel Radcliffe’s essay at The Trevor Project responding to her tweets. He also responds to die-hard Harry Potter fans, of which there are many, to let them know: hey, you can still enjoy the books.
“I realize that certain press outlets will probably want to paint this as in-fighting between J.K. Rowling and myself, but that is really not what this is about, nor is it what’s important right now,†the actor writes. “While Jo is unquestionably responsible for the course my life has taken, as someone who has been honored to work with and continues to contribute to The Trevor Project for the last decade, and just as a human being, I feel compelled to say something at this moment.â€
“Transgender women are women,†Radcliffe continues. “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.â€
And for Harry Potter readers, Radcliffe writes, hopefully you won’t let Rowling’s comments faze you, as they don’t have anything to do with the value of the books themselves. “To all the people who now feel that their experience of the books has been tarnished or diminished, I am deeply sorry for the pain these comments have caused you. I really hope that you don’t entirely lose what was valuable in these stories to you,†he writes. “If you found anything in these stories that resonated with you and helped you at any time in your life - then that is between you and the book that you read, and that is sacred. And in my opinion nobody can touch that.â€