J.K. Rowling has faced renewed criticism over tweets which appear to promote anti-trans sentiments, a stance which she has previously been criticised for. On Saturday, the author posted a series of tweets arguing that notions of gender identity contradict biological sex, following which she faced significant backlash from activists and organisations, as well as dismayed Harry Potter fans.
Now Daniel Radcliffe has penned an open letter in support of trans and non-binary people.
Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe has posted an open letter supporting trans people in response to J.K. Rowling’s recent controversial tweets.
Radcliffe’s essay was posted to The Trevor Project, a non-profit organisation which provides crisis intervention and suicide prevention services for LGBTQ+ people.
“I 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 what’s important right now,” Radcliffe begins the letter.
“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.”
Radcliffe goes on to unequivocally state: “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,” he continues. “According to The Trevor Project, 78% of transgender and nonbinary youth reported being the subject of discrimination due to their gender identity.”
“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.”
Radcliffe has worked with The Trevor Project for over ten years, having made a “major” donation to the organisation back in 2009.
You can read the essay in its entirety here.
