Paapa Essiedu Doesn’t Want to Talk About J.K. Rowling But Says He Supports Trans People

In a new interview with Vanity Fair published on Tuesday, Harry Potter series star Paapa Essiedu made his support for transgender people very clear, but avoided directly addressing author and executive producer J.K. Rowling’s outspoken anti-trans views.Asked about the author, Essiedu, who will play Professor Severus Snape in the television reboot of the fantasy franchise, deflected, saying, “I don’t want to talk about Jo at all.”“I believe, in my bones, that trans people, queer people, people of all creeds and color have got the right to be treated with respect and dignity and safety at all times — whether they’re in the workplace, whether they’re at home or in the street, whatever,” Essiedu told the magazine. “That’s what I believe, and that’s the way that I choose to live my life. That’s the creed by which I live.”In the series, which premieres on December 25, Essiedu plays Snape, who has a tumultuous and complicated relationship with young wizard Harry Potter throughout the central story. Rowling serves as an executive producer on the project. Since 2020, the author’s anti-trans views have become an increasing subject of controversy among LGBTQ+ people and allies who are fans of the franchise.In April 2025, Essiedu was among hundreds of actors who signed an open letter of support for the trans community condemning and opposing a U.K. Supreme Court ruling that stripped legal recognition from transgender people.In response to Essiedu’s vocal support of trans people, Rowling shared a post on X paired with an article about the contrast between their views, saying, “I don’t have the power to sack an actor from the series and I wouldn’t exercise it if I did. I don’t believe in taking away people’s jobs or livelihoods because they hold legally protected beliefs that differ from mine.”Multiple stars of the new Harry Potter series have been asked about J.K. Rowling’s anti-trans politics, with some publicly inserting distance b