Hagrid Actor Robbie Coltrane Defends J.K. Rowling Despite The Author Being Accused Of Transphobia
According to Pink News, Robbie Coltrane, who played Rubeus Hagrid in the Harry Potter films, said that he stood by J.K. Rowling following the announcement of her new novel, which caused the bestselling author to be accused of transphobia.
In the plot of Rowling’s new book, Troubled Blood, a male serial killer dresses as a woman to kill his female victims. The author received criticism because the character features stereotypes portraying transgender people as villains, according to The Los Angeles Times.
“I don’t think what she said was offensive really. I don’t know why but there’s a whole Twitter generation of people who hang around waiting to be offended,” Coltrane stated in a recent interview.
After the interview was released, Twitter users wasted no time expressing their disapproval of the statement Coltrane made. Various users felt that since Coltrane isn’t transgender, he didn’t have a right to tell members in the trans community what should and should not offend them.
Other actors that have starred in the Harry Potter movies, like Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint, have all publicly criticized Rowling’s views. Radcliffe even expressed his support for trans equality in a blog post for a LGBTQ+ charity.
“Transgender women are women. 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,” Radcliffe commented.
Despite taking harsh criticism and disapproval, Rowling continues to insist that she is not transphobic.
A recent review of Rowling’s new book led to #RIPJKRowling to start trending on Twitter. The trend does not refer to the fact that the author is dead, but instead readers believe she is killing her own career due to her transphobic tendencies.
Although some are using the hashtag to express their disapproval of Rowling, others are using it in a more positive way. Some have used the hashtag to recommend other books by trans writers, and others have used it to defend Rowling’s freedom to express her own views.
This is not the first time Rowling has been under fire for her views. In a previous novel, The Silkworm, she endured hateful comments regarding her description of a trans woman in the book.
After being heavily scrutinized on social media, Rowling released an essay on her website that drew attention to certain claims she thought were faulty in the transgender community.
