John Lithgow has addressed backlash at his involvement in the new Harry Potter TV series – after fans called for him to walk away from the series.
The actor, who has played a cardinal, serial killer, prime minister, alien and a president through his career, was revealed as the new Albus Dumbledore last year.
John will join a star-studded cast for the new HBO TV adaptation of the popular franchise, which will make its debut on screens nearly 15 years after the last film.
After it was announced he would be taking on the role last October, he was quickly met by backlash from his fans – calling for him to walk away from the project over JK Rowling‘s views on trans rights.
The author, who penned the wizard series in the 1990s, was met with further ire over comments she made over the ‘huge explosion in young women wishing to transition’.
While admitting she ‘respected every trans person’s right to live any way that feels authentic’, the writer had previously faced backlash for showing public support by ‘liking’ transphobic tweets in 2017 and 2018.
John Lithgow has addressed backlash at his involvement in the new Harry Potter TV series – after fans called for him to walk away from the series
After it was announced he would be taking on the role last October, he was quickly met by backlash from his fans – calling for him to walk away from the project over JK Rowling’s views on trans rights
She also hit out at stars who use ‘platforms to cheer on the transitioning of minors’ and said people who supported gender transitioning in children should apologise to ‘vulnerable women reliant on single sex spaces’.
Rowling, 60, is serving as an executive producer on the new TV series, which also stars Janet McTeer as Minerva McGonagall, Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape and Nick Frost as Rubeus Hagrid.
Quizzed about his decision to join the TV show, which is due for release in 2027, despite criticism from fans, actor John, 80, admitted it was a ‘hard’ one to make.
He told Variety that while he took the subject of Rowling’s anti-trans views ‘extremely seriously’, he was ‘perfectly ready for collisions of opinion’ and ‘understands’ that not everyone will support his choice.
John said: ‘She has created this amazing canon for young people, and it has jumped into the consciousness of the society, it’s about good versus evil, kindness versus cruelty.
‘I find her views ironic and inexplicable.
‘It upsets me when people are opposed to me having anything to do with this. But in “Potter” canon, you see no trace of transphobic sensitivity.’
The actor also detailed that he had never met Rowling and that, despite her contributions to the HBO show, she was ‘not really involved in its production’.
Quizzed about his decision to join the TV show, which is due for release in 2027, despite criticism from fans, actor John, 80, admitted it was a ‘hard’ one to make
The actor was revealed as the new Albus Dumbledore last year
Instead he heaped praise on the production staff as ‘remarkable’, as he concluded: ‘It made me uncomfortable and unhappy that people insisted I walk away from the job. I chose not to do that.’
Last month, Hollywood legend Ralph Fiennes accidentally ‘revealed’ a Peaky Blinders star is due to play Voldemort in HBO‘s upcoming Harry Potter TV series.
According to The Sun, the Oscar nominee, 63, was asked: ‘Who do you think should fill your shoes for Voldemort in the upcoming HBO show?’
He responded: ‘I’m told they are already filled, aren’t they? I think Cillian Murphy is very good. A very good choice.’
Appearing panicked in the video, shared on TikTok, Ralph continued: ‘I’ve already said, I think Cillian Murphy is very good.
Turning to his team, the actor said: ‘I think they’ve cast it, haven’t they? You don’t know? I don’t know. I thought they had.’
Elsewhere, last September, JK Rowling issued an unprecedented condemnation of Emma Watson by accusing her of being ‘ignorant of how ignorant she is’.
Rowling said the actress’s public criticism of her gender critical stance had ‘poured more petrol on the flames’ of the abuse she had suffered.
JK Rowling with Emma Watson at the world premiere of Deathly Hallows in 2011
Ms Rowling said she had long felt ‘protective’ over the former child star
Read More
BREAKING NEWS
JK Rowling condemns ‘ignorant’ Emma Watson
She also dismissed Ms Watson’s recent claim that she ‘still treasures’ her by accusing the 35-year-old of ‘cosying up’ to a movement that ‘regularly calls for a friend’s assassination’.
Ms Rowling has previously vowed to ‘never forgive’ actress Emma or her Harry Potter co-stars Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint for having ‘cosied up to a movement intent on eroding women’s hard-won rights’.
In a statement, Rowling said the trio had ‘every right to embrace gender identity ideology’ but attacked them for using their links to Harry Potter to serve as ‘de facto spokespeople’ for the ‘world I created’.
The actress recently blamed her driving ban on being a movie star from a young age, saying it had left her ‘unable to do some pretty basic life things’.
The author raged: ‘I wasn’t a multimillionaire at fourteen. I lived in poverty while writing the book that made Emma famous.
‘I therefore understand from my own life experience what the trashing of women’s rights in which Emma has so enthusiastically participated means to women and girls without her privileges.’
She went on to claim that Emma’s recent claim that she still ‘treasures’ her was a cynical attempt to shift her stance after realising ‘full-throated condemnation of me is not as fashionable as it once was’.
