Harry, Hermione and Ron are sticking together. Rupert Grint is the last of the Harry Potter film trio to come out against J.K. Rowling’s transphobic remarks.
In a statement sent to UK media on Friday, Grint said:
“I firmly stand with the trans community and echo the sentiments expressed by many of my peers. Trans women are women. Trans men are men. We should all be entitled to live with love and without judgement.”
His Harry Potter co-stars Emma Watson and Dan Radcliffe have also issued statements over the past week.
Also today, Fantastic Beasts co-star Dan Fogler issued a touching statement of his own, in which he notes the struggles that his Muggle character Jacob has in the Wizarding World:
“The core of Jacob’s character and story is that he is a human no-maj and considered a different class altogether by many wizards,” he writes.
READ MORE: J.K. Rowling Doubles Down and Defends Transphobic Comments In Epic Essay
“Jacob somehow finds love with a magical witch, and even though it’s forbidden, as so many of Jo’s stories teach us: love triumphs over all, and to accept people for who they are.”
Emma Watson voiced her support for trans people on Twitter with a number of posts stating her opinion unequivocally.
“Trans people are who they say they are, and deserve to live their lives without being constantly questioned or told they aren’t who they say they are,” Watson wrote. “I want my trans followers to know that I and so many other people around the world see you, respect you and love you for who you are. I donate to @Mermaids_Gender and @mamacash. If you can, perhaps you’ll feel inclined to do the same. Happy #PRIDE2020 Sending love x.”
Radcliffe wrote his own statement in which he condemned the author’s words on The Trevor Project.
“To 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 don’t entirely lose what was valuable in these stories to you,” a part of Radcliffe’s op-ed read. “If 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 — 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.”
READ MORE: J.K. Rowling Blasted for Latest Anti-Trans Tweets
In response to the growing backlash that led Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts franchise actors to speak up, Warner Bros. also released a statement.
Unfortunately, it danced around the heart of the issue – Rowling’s transphobic comments – with WB’s short blurb maintaining they’re all for inclusivity and are committed to propagating it in their work environments as well as upcoming projects.
However, the statement does not mention how they will do that or what their plans are for supporting the trans-community.
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