Bel Powley Says She “Strongly Disagrees” With J.K. Rowling’s Transphobia Despite Taking Role in Harry Potter Reboot

Bel Powley, a star of the forthcoming HBO Max Harry Potter television series, is making it clear that she does not share J.K. Rowling’s famously transphobic views. Powley will play Petunia Dursley in the adaptation, set to stream on December 25 of this year. Despite having a love and appreciation for the franchise, the 34-year-old actress said she “strongly disagrees” with Rowling’s repeated attacks on trans people.“I think that the trans community deserve safety and dignity and respect and total acceptance,” she said in an interview with The Telegraph. The once-beloved children’s author captured the hearts of several generations of readers and viewers by crafting the wizarding world of Hogwarts, including Powley’s. It’s been just over six years since Rowling released her 3,800-word “TERF wars” essay, which many have since dubbed her “TERF manifesto,” that included transphobic conspiracy theories like “rapid onset gender dysphoria” and referred to transness as a social contagion. Though some people had suspected the author might be getting radialized as a trans-exclusionary radical feminist in the year prior, the 2020 essay marked a turning point in her public persona. Since then, the author has gone on to regularly call trans women men and has actively funded legal battles to codify transphobia into the U.K. law. Rowling’s long list of transphobic statements and actions, which you can read more about in our existing timeline, have garnered backlash from queer and trans fans who have long found solace in the world of Harry Potter. Stars from the original franchise such as Emma Watson, Daniel Radcliffe, and Rupert Grint have all spoken out in support of trans people and against Rowling’s views. When the new television series was announced in 2023, many people called for a boycott of the franchise, as Rowling would still financially benefit from the show. As she’s used her wealth to fund anti-trans legal battles, advocates asked peo