One Person in a Couple is Always Taller Than the Other
The irrationality and hate directed at Radcliffe and Darke
Daniel Radcliffe, who as a child actor played Harry Potter in the film series, has challenged J.K. Rowling’s transphobia since the beginning. In June 2020, following transphobic tweets by Rowling (and two days before Rowling posted her infamous “Reasons for Speaking Out” essay on her blog), Radcliffe put out his own statement through the Trevor Project, an organization with which he’d been involved for years.
“We need to do more to support transgender and nonbinary people, not invalidate their identities, and not cause further harm,” he said. This statement was not, he clarified, meant as a sally within “in-fighting between J.K. Rowling and myself.” Nor did he disparage the Harry Potter books or films, saying instead: “I really hope that you don’t entirely lose what was valuable in these [Harry Potter] stories to you…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.”
In November 2022, he explained why he made that statement: “I’ve met so many queer and trans kids and young people…I wanted them to know that not everybody in the [Harry Potter] franchise felt that way.”