Voldemort actor defends JK Rowling amid transgender row

JK Rowling is not an “obscene uber-right-wing fascist,” actor Ralph Fiennes, who portrayed Voldemort in the Harry Potter movies, has said. He was commenting on the backlash the author faces over her stance on transgender issues.

Speaking to the New York Times over the weekend, the actor said that the abuse directed at Rowling has been “disgusting” and “appalling,” and noted the positive impact her books have had.

“Rowling has written these great books about empowerment, about young people finding themselves as human beings,” Ralph told the outlet. “It’s about how you become a better, stronger, more morally centered human being.”

Fiennes said that even though he “can understand a viewpoint that might be angry at what she says about women,” he stressed that Rowling is not some “obscene, uber-right-wing fascist.” 

“It’s just a woman saying, ‘I’m a woman and I feel I’m a woman and I want to be able to say that I’m a woman,” the actor stated, noting that he understands where the author is coming from, even if he himself is not a woman.

Rowling, a self-proclaimed feminist, found herself at the center of the transgender debate two years ago after she published an essay criticizing gender ideology and voicing concerns that biological men were invading female-only spaces. In response, the author was accused of being a “fascist” and “transphobic.” 

Read more

Scottish trans policy puts women in danger – JK Rowling

While most of the cast members who worked on the Harry Potter films have since joined in the condemnation of Rowling, Fiennes is one of the few who have defended the author. In March 2021, the actor told The Telegraph that he “can’t understand the vitriol directed at her,” and that he considers “this age of accusation and the need to condemn irrational.” 

“I find the level of hatred that people express about views that differ from theirs, and the violence of language towards others, disturbing,” Fiennes said.

Earlier this month, Rowling also came out against Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon’s plan to allow almost anyone to legally change their gender without the need of a medical diagnosis. The author argued that this would allow “predatory men” who have not had any sex-change surgery or hormone treatment to freely enter women’s spaces, such as changing rooms, hospital wards, and prison cells.

Rowling condemned Sturgeon as a “destroyer of women’s rights” and warned that the blame for any sexual assaults, voyeurism, harassment, or rape that result from these new rules will rest squarely with the Scottish parliament. Sturgeon responded by saying everyone has the right to express their views however they wish.