Daniel Radcliffe Says J.K. Rowling’s Views on Transgender Community ‘Make Me Really Sad’

“It makes me really sad, ultimately, because I do look at the person that I met — the times that we met — and the books that she wrote and the world that she created, and all of that is to me so deeply empathic,” Radcliffe, 34, said during an interview with The Atlantic published on Tuesday, April 30.

Radcliffe, who rose to fame while portraying the titular role in the Harry Potter film series based upon the books written by Rowling, 58, noted that he has not spoken to Rowling in years.

“Jo, obviously Harry Potter would not have happened without her, so nothing in my life would have probably happened the way it is without that person,” he acknowledged. “But that doesn’t mean that you owe the things you truly believe to someone else for your entire life.”

Radcliffe’s comments come after Rowling criticized him and Emma Watson earlier this month. The author, who has faced backlash for anti-trans comments over the years, responded to an X user who noted they were “waiting for Dan and Emma to give [Rowling] a very public apology” and felt “safe in the knowledge that” she would “forgive them” for speaking out against her views.

“Not safe, I’m afraid,” Rowling replied on April 10. “Celebs who cozied up to a movement intent on eroding women’s hard-won rights and who used their platforms to cheer on the transitioning of minors can save their apologies for traumatized detransitioners and vulnerable women reliant on single-sex spaces.”

When asked about Rowling’s remarks, Radcliffe told The Atlantic: “I will continue to support the rights of all LGBTQ people, and have no further comment than that.”

Rowling first raised eyebrows for her controversial beliefs on gender identity when she posted a series of tweets in June 2020.

“‘People who menstruate.’ I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?” she wrote at the time. “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.”

Rowling subsequently defended her comments in a lengthy essay after being labeled a “TERF,” which stands for Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminist.

“It isn’t enough for women to be trans allies. Women must accept and admit that there is no material difference between trans women and themselves. But, as many women have said before me, ‘woman’ is not a costume,” she wrote. “The ‘inclusive’ language that calls female people ‘menstruators’ and ‘people with vulvas’ strikes many women as dehumanising and demeaning. I understand why trans activists consider this language to be appropriate and kind, but for those of us who’ve had degrading slurs spat at us by violent men, it’s not neutral, it’s hostile and alienating.”

Both Radcliffe and Watson, 34, voiced their support for the transgender community at the time.

“While Jo is unquestionably responsible for the course my life has taken, as someone who has been honored to work with and continues to contribute to The Trevor Project for the last decade, and just as a human being, I feel compelled to say something at this moment. Transgender women are women,” Radcliffe wrote in an essay published by The Trevor Project in June 2020. “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.”

Watson, meanwhile, spoke out via X that same month.

“Trans people are who they say they are and deserve to live their lives without being constantly questioned or told they aren’t who they say they are,” she wrote. “I want my trans followers to know that I and so many other people around the world see you, respect you and love you for who you are.”

Rowling has repeatedly doubled down on her stance since 2020. In February, she criticized a Sky News report for identifying Scarlet Black — a transgender woman who was found guilty of murdering a man — as a woman.

“I’m so sick of this s—t. This is not a woman. These are #NotOurCrimes,” Rowling wrote alongside the article.