New Harry Potter star hits out at JK Rowling after taking role in TV series

Star of the new Harry Potter TV series Bel Powley says she 'strongly disagrees' with JK Rowling’s gender views.

The actress, 34, will feature as Petunia Dursley in the upcoming HBO Max adaptation of Rowling’s books, set to premiere on Christmas Day.

“I strongly disagree with JK Rowling’s views on gender,” Powley told The Telegraph.

“I think that the trans community deserve safety and dignity and respect and total acceptance. But I love Harry Potter. I grew up with the books. I am from that first generation of readers and, again, I love magic and spookiness.

“I believe that energy doesn’t disappear. The world doesn’t get lighter if someone dies, does it? The energy shifts into the trees and the grass and the sky and I find that quite comforting.”

Rowling shared her views on gender in June 2020 with an article titled 'Opinion: Creating a more equal post-Covid-19 world for people who menstruate'.

Bel Powley will play Petunia Dursley in the upcoming HBO Max adaptation of Rowling’s books (John Phillips/Getty Images)

She wrote at the time: “If sex isn’t real, the lived reality of women globally is erased.”

The author explicitly added that 'trans people need and deserve protection' and said she wanted trans women to be safe.

Many cast members of the original film series have have been in disagreement with Rowling’s views, including Daniel Radcliffe, who played Harry Potter, and Emma Watson, who portrayed Hermione Granger.

Radcliffe apologised for the 'pain' which the author had caused for people, penning an essay for LGBTQ+ organisation, The Trevor Project.

Watson also voiced her love for the community while telling her trans followers that she and 'so many other people around the world see you, respect you and love you for who you are'.

Rowling said he was 'bloody angry' about the findings of Cass' review, which she described as 'the most robust review of the medical evidence for transitioning children that's ever been conducted' (Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images)

Rupert Grint, who plays Ron Weasley, said in a statement in 2020: "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."

He added in an interview with The Times: "I liken JK Rowling to an auntie. I don’t necessarily agree with everything my auntie says, but she’s still my auntie. It’s a tricky one."

Rowling, meanwhile, has denied being transphobic and said she respects 'every trans person’s right to live any way that feels authentic and comfortable to them'.

Ralph Fiennes, who played Lord Voldemort, has been against the online backlash aimed at Rowling.

"The verbal abuse directed at her is disgusting, it’s appalling," he told The New York Times.

"I can understand a viewpoint that might be angry at what she says about women. But it’s not some obscene, uber-right-wing fascist. It’s just a woman saying, ‘I’m a woman and I feel I’m a woman and I want to be able to say that I’m a woman’."

LADbible Group attempted to reach out to JK Rowling’s representatives for comment.