Daniel Radcliffe has explained why he spoke out against J.K. Rowling after she posted several controversial tweets that were widely deemed as "transphobic."
In an interview with IndieWire, the "Harry Potter" star said he felt compelled to say something because he was concerned about how Rowling's remarks may impact young trans fans.
"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," he said. "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."
In one of her tweets last year, Rowling took issue with a headline that used the phrase "people who menstruate," instead of "women." The headline was inclusive of transgender people.
"'People who menstruate.' I'm sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?" Rowling tweeted.
She then defended her stance on the transgender community in a lengthy blog post, a link for which she shared on Twitter along with the words "TERF wars." TERF stands for trans-exclusionary radical feminist. Critics have given that title to the author.
In response, Radcliffe addressed the ordeal in a blog post written for the nonprofit Trevor Project.
"Transgender women are women," he wrote. "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."
Speaking with IndieWire, Radcliffe said he felt it was essential to write the letter.
"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 said. "But it's not mine to guess what's going on in someone else's head."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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