‘Harry Potter’ star Jim Broadbent offers support to J.K. Rowling over transgender backlash

Jim Broadbent has spoken out in support of J.K. Rowling after the Harry Potter author doubled down on her feelings about the transgender community.

Broadbent, who played Horace Slughorn in the film adaptations of Rowling’s books, described the current backlash against the author as “really sad”.

“I think J.K. Rowling is amazing. I haven’t had to confront [the backlash] myself, but I would support her in that, I think, if it came to it,” the actor told The Telegraph.

On Tuesday, Rowling offered a sarcastic response towards those planning to boycott HBO‘s upcoming Harry Potter TV series.

The television reboot of the fantasy franchise was confirmed earlier this month (April 12), and while some fans were thrilled about the news, others were quick to speak out against the project due to the author’s previous remarks about the transgender community.

The comments were first made public in 2020 when the author took to Twitter to write a series of “anti-trans” tweets, which called out an article’s use of the phrase “men who menstruate”. Following the comments, a number of people have called for a boycott of the show, due to Rowling’s involvement.

J.K. Rowling attends the World Premiere of “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore” at The Royal Festival Hall on March 29, 2022 in London, England. Credit: Dave J Hogan/Getty Images.

Sharing her response to the planned boycott, the author took to social media on Friday (April 21), and sarcastically labelled the efforts as “dreadful news”, as well as saying she is taking “precautions”.

“Dreadful news, which I feel duty bound to share,” she wrote. “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.”

When asked earlier this month by The Independent if Rowling’s involvement will hinder the series, Max and HBO Content Head Casey Bloys declined to comment on the issue. “That’s a very online conversation,” he told the publication. “Very nuanced and complicated and not something we’re going to get into.”

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