Daniel Radcliffe’s Response to J.K. Rowlings Anti-Trans Tweets: ‘Transgender Women Are Women’

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Daniel Radcliffe attends the Premiere Of CBS Films' "The Woman In Black" - Arrivals

Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling drew condemnation for tweets that GLAAD contended โ€œwillfully distorts facts about gender identity and people who are trans,โ€ Daniel Radcliffe, aka Harry Potter, responded.

Radcliffe acknowledged Rowlingโ€™s importance in his career but said that he felt โ€œcompelledโ€ to stand up for the trans community in an open letter posted on The Trevor Projectโ€™s website.

attends the Turner Upfront 2018 arrivals on the red carpet at The Theater at Madison Square Garden on May 16, 2018 in New York City. 376263

โ€œI realize that certain press outlets will probably want to paint this as in-fighting between J.K. Rowling and myself, but that is really not what this is about, nor is it whatโ€™s important right now. While Jo is unquestionably responsible for the course my life has taken, as someone who has been honored to work with and continues to contribute to The Trevor Project for the last decade, and just as a human being, I feel compelled to say something at this moment,โ€ he said.

โ€œTransgender 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,โ€ he added.

Daniel Radcliffe TCA Turner Winter Press Tour 2018 Green Room
Daniel Radcliffe poses in the green room during the TCA Turner Winter Press Tour 2018 Presentation at The Langham Huntington, Pasadena on January 11, 2018 in Pasadena, California. TCA Turner Winter Press Tour 2018 Green Room. (Photo by Getty Images)

โ€œAccording to The Trevor Project, 78 percent of transgender and nonbinary youth reported being the subject of discrimination due to their gender identity,โ€ Daniel wrote. โ€œItโ€™s clear that we need to do more to support transgender and nonbinary people, not invalidate their identities, and not cause further harmโ€ฆ I am still learning how to be a better ally.โ€

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Radcliffe also apologized to hurt Potterheads who felt let down by Rowlingโ€™s recent tweets and hoped that their love for the Harry Potter books was unchanged.

โ€œTo all the people who now feel that their experience of the books has been tarnished or diminished, I am deeply sorry for the pain these comments have caused you. I really hope that you donโ€™t entirely lose what was valuable in these stories to you,โ€ he said.

โ€œIf these books taught you that love is the strongest force in the universe, capable of overcoming anything; if they taught you that strength is found in diversity, and that dogmatic ideas of pureness lead to the oppression of vulnerable groups; if you believe that a particular character is trans, nonbinary, or gender fluid, or that they are gay or bisexual; if you found anything in these stories that resonated with you and helped you at any time in your life โ€” then that is between you and the book that you read, and it is sacred. And in my opinion nobody can touch that. It means to you what it means to you and I hope that these comments will not taint that too much,โ€ he added.

Rowling has yet to respond to Radcliffe.

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