Daniel Radcliffe, the man who once wielded a wand with more finesse than a seasoned magician at a kid’s birthday party, is back in the limelight, and this time it’s not to ward off dark wizards, but to tackle a different kind of dark magic – JK Rowling’s anti-trans comments.
Picture this: a world where the creator of the magical universe we’ve all come to love starts dropping spells of intolerance instead of charms. Yep, that’s the bizarro world we found ourselves in as JK Rowling has made it abundantly clear that she’s not exactly waving her wand in support of transgender folks. And guess who’s putting on his cloak of righteousness to take on the Sorting Hat of Justice? None other than our boy Harry himself, Daniel Radcliffe.
In a recent interview, the now 34-year-old Radcliffe didn’t just wave a magic wand and make the issue disappear like a puff of floo powder. Oh no, he took it head-on, defending the LGBTQ+ community with more gusto than Hermione attacking a particularly stubborn potion.
“It makes me really sad, ultimately,” Daniel lamented, “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.” Translation? Radcliffe is basically saying, “Come on, Jo, we shared broomsticks and Butterbeer, and now you’re casting spells of intolerance? Not cool, man.”
And about that recent tweet from Rowling essentially telling Daniel and his fellow Hogwarts alumni, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint, to take their apologies and shove them in a quaffle? Radcliffe’s response was about as subtle as a herd of stampeding hippogriffs crashing through Diagon Alley.
“I will continue to support the rights of all LGBTQ people, and have no further comment than that,” he declared. Translation: “Alohomora, Jo! Let’s open up those closed minds of yours!”
Let’s rewind a bit to 2020 when Daniel, Emma, and Rupert first stepped up to duel with Rowling’s anti-trans rhetoric. In an essay for the Trevor Project, Radcliffe boldly declared that “transgender women are women.” Talk about Expelliarmus-ing bigotry!
And why did he feel the need to whip out his wand of truth then? “I’d worked with the Trevor Project for 12 years,” he explained, “and it would have seemed like, I don’t know, immense cowardice to me to not say something.” Translation: “When Dumbledore’s Army calls, you answer, even if it’s against the person who created the world where I fought alongside giant spiders and saved the day countless times.”
Daniel Radcliffe, the Boy Who Lived, might not be fighting off dark lords anymore, but he’s still out here slaying bigotry like it’s a Hungarian Horntail. Accio equality, am I right?
Not safe, I'm afraid. 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.
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) April 10, 2024
