Rupert Grint has addressed his “tricky” relationship with Harry Potter author JK Rowling, likening her to an “auntie” he “doesn’t always agree with”.
Speaking of Rowling publicly sharing her disdain for certain transgender terminology which lead to a widespread backlash against her, Grint said of his relationship with the author, “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,” Grint told The Sunday Times.
It is not the first time that Rupert has shared his opinion on Rowling’s comments.
He told The Times at the time: “Trans women are women. Trans men are men. We should all be entitled to live with love and without judgment.
“I firmly stand with the trans community and echo the sentiments expressed by many of my peers.”
The drama all started back in June 2020, when Rowling took to Twitter to tell her social media followers that she had an issue with the term ‘people who menstruate’ being used instead of ‘women.’
“I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?” Rowling tweeted.
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Following her post, Rowling was branded ‘transphobic’ which led to the author with JK hitting back at her critics saying that “It isn’t hate to speak the truth.”
She added, “If sex isn’t real, there’s no same-sex attraction. If sex isn’t real, the lived reality of women globally is erased. I know and love trans people, but erasing the concept of sex removes the ability of many to meaningfully discuss their lives. It isn’t hate to speak the truth.”
Amid the drama, Grint and other Harry Potter stars spoke out about the author’s comments, including Daniel Radcliffe who shared a lengthy essay in response to the tone-deaf tweets.
“Transgender women are women,” Radcliffe wrote.
“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 continued, “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,” he wrote.
“I really hope that you don’t entirely lose what was valuable in these stories to you.
“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.”
Recently, the Harry Potter cast reunited for a 20th-anniversary special, though Rowling was notably absent from the highly-anticipated event.
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