[Picture from Pedro Pascal's Instagram account]
A wave of celebrity voices and fan-led campaigns have sprung up in opposition to HBO’s forthcoming Harry Potter television series, mainly because of arch-transphobe J.K. Rowling’s involvement... because she needs the money, right? Rowling, the author of the original (well, we say original...) Harry Potter novels, is slated to serve as an executive producer on the adaptation due no doubt to her extraordinary creativity...
Pedro Pascal, known mainly for HBO’s The Last of Us, threw his not unattractive weight in on the controversy in an Instagram comment. Pascal, who has been an active supporter of transgender rights and whose younger sister Lux is a trans actress and model, responded to a call for a boycott posted by Instagram user Tariq Ra’ouf. The user’s video urged followers to stay well clear of Harry Potter content and merchandise, citing Rowling’s celebration (with a cigar! How very trans-man!) of a recent U.K. Supreme Court judgment that legally defines womanhood based on biological sex. Pascal called Rowling's reaction “awful disgusting S***” and “heinous LOSER behavior.”
Nicola Coughlan, best known for her role in the hit series Bridgerton, also had a swipe at Rowling’s stance and distanced herself from the new Harry Potter project. Through her Instagram story, Coughlan expressed her intention to give the series a wide berth: 'Keep your new Harry Potter lads. Wouldn’t touch it with a ten foot pole.' She has been an outspoken advocate for LGBTQ+ rights and recently helped fundraise over £120,000 for Not a Phase, a charity supporting trans adults in the U.K.
Rowling described the attempts at a boycott on her X account as 'dreadful news' and indicated she had prepared for the turmoil, joking about having 'a large stock of champagne' at the ready. She had already laid into former cast members from the Harry Potter film franchise - including Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson - who have expressed support for transgender rights, suggesting they should apologise to 'traumatised detransitioners and vulnerable women reliant on single sex spaces.'
In a related thought, has anyone mentioned to the TERF-y lesbians celebrating exclusion of trans-women from single sex spaces, whether straight women are happy having them in their toilets and changing rooms?
Source: Noah Wire Services