Harry Potter star Robbie Coltrane has defended JK Rowling after she was accused of being transphobic.
JK, author of the hit Potter books, faced online fury earlier this year about mocking a headline which referred to “people who menstruate” and has come under fire from Harry Potter stars including Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson.
This month she sparked another backlash when her latest novel, Troubled Blood was released and it was revealed it features a man who wears dresses and kills women, with critics saying it is an unfair representation of transgender people.
Now Robbie who plays the Hagrid character in the hit fantasy films has revealed he does not find her views offensive.
Harry Potter star Robbie Coltrane has defended JK Rowling after she was accused of being transphobic (Image: GETTY)
He told the Radio Times: “I don’t think what she said was offensive really. I don’t know why but there’s a whole Twitter generation of people who hang around waiting to be offended.
“They wouldn’t have won the war, would they? That’s me talking like a grumpy old man, but you just think, ”Oh, get over yourself. Wise up, stand up straight and carry on”.’
Cracker star Coltrane, said he did not want to go further because he “doesn’t want to get involved in all of that because of all the hate mail and all that s***, which I don’t need at my time of life”.
JK was accused of being transphobic following her remarks about article headline – ‘Creating a more equal post-Covid-19 world for people who menstruate’.
The multi millionaire wrote: “I’m sure there used to be a word for those people.”
JK was accused of being transphobic following her remarks about article headline – ‘Creating a more equal post-Covid-19 world for people who menstruate’ (Image: REUTERS)
“Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?”
People argued the point that not only women who are born women menstruate.
She went on to defend her comments and said: “If sex isn’t real, there’s no same-sex attraction. 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.”
Daniel Radcliffe released a statement through LGBT suicide prevention charity The Trevor Project apologising for Rowling’s social media outburst.
The statement read: “Transgender women are women. 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.
“According to The Trevor Project, 78% of transgender and nonbinary youth reported being the subject of discrimination due to their gender identity.
“It’s clear that we need to do more to support transgender and nonbinary people, not invalidate their identities, and not cause further harm.”
Troubled Blood, which has been written under JK’s pseudonym Robert Galbraith, is the next instalment in her Strike detective series.
It’s believed that the character, Dennis Creed, “fetishes women’s clothing” and “disguises himself as a woman to trick the person he’s abducting,” according to The US Sun.
Since the news emerged, people have taken to social media to vent their frustration, with one penning: “JK Rowling really wrote a whole book being transphobic wtf.”
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
