Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling appears unbothered by criticism of her involvement with HBO Max’s upcoming Harry Potter series.
“Dreadful news, which I feel duty bound to share,” Rowling quipped in a tweet on Friday. “Activists in my mentions are trying to organise yet another boycott of my work, this time of the Harry Potter TV show. As forewarned is forearmed, I’ve taken the precaution of laying in a large stock of champagne.”
HBO Max (which will soon simply be called Max) officially ordered the Harry Potter adaptation to series on April 12, calling it a “faithful” interpretation of Rowling’s seven novels. Rowling will serve as an executive producer on the project, news that was met with anger from many fans; in recent years, Rowling’s statements on sex and gender have widely been deemed transphobic, including a June 2020 tweet that suggested only cisgender women experience menstruation. That comment, and several subsequent others, have drawn much pushback, including from the star of the Harry Potter films, Daniel Radcliffe.
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“Transgender women are women,” Radcliffe wrote in a 2020 blog post. “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… It’s clear that we need to do more to support transgender and nonbinary people, not invalidate their identities, and not cause further harm.”
As for HBO Max’s Harry Potter series, it’s not yet clear when the show will premiere or who will star; the streamer has, however, already made a 10-year commitment to the adaptation.
“Max’s commitment to preserving the integrity of my books is important to me, and I’m looking forward to being part of this new adaptation which will allow for a degree of depth and detail only afforded by a long form television series,” Rowling said earlier this month.
