Warner Bros on JK Rowling's transphobia: "She has a right to express her views"

[shyboi]

When J.K. Rowling first went public in June 2020 about her belief that transgender women are men and transgender men are women, many of the stars of the "Harry Potter" and "Fantastic Beasts" movies — including Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint and Eddie Redmayne— immediately spoke out in support of trans and nonbinary rights and identity. Two of the biggest Harry Potter fan communities, MuggleNet and The Leaky Cauldron, denounced Rowling's views and severed ties with the author's future projects. And Warner Bros. released a carefully worded statementthat "a diverse and inclusive culture has never been more important to our company and to our audiences around the world" — which, while not mentioning Rowling or trans and nonbinary people, did at least put some rhetorical distance between the studio and the creative force behind one of its most enduring and lucrative franchises.

 

Four years later, the landscape looks quite different. Under new leadership, Warner Bros. Discovery has aggressively expanded the reach of Rowling's Wizarding World, centered on HBO's impending revival of Rowling's book series as a longform TV show, led by showrunner Francesca Gardiner and director Mark Mylod, both alums of "Succession." HBO chief Casey Bloys told reporters at a press event on Nov. 12 that Rowling was "very, very involved in the process selecting the writer and the director," and her anti-trans statements "haven't affected the casting or hiring of writers or productions staff" for the show. And a spokesperson for the network said in a statement to Variety that its parent company has "been working with J.K. Rowling and in the Harry Potter business for over 20 years" and "her contribution has been invaluable."

 

"We are proud to once again tell the story of Harry Potter — the heartwarming books that speak to power of friendship, resolve and acceptance," the statement continued. "J.K. Rowling has a right to express her personal views. We will remain focused on the development of the new series, which will only benefit from her involvement." (A rep for Mylod referred Variety to HBO; a rep for Gardiner did not respond to a request for comment.)

 

https://variety.com/2024/tv/news/harry-potter-hbo-series-jk-rowling-transphobia-1236215642/

 

Edited 4 hours ago by shyboi

[SupremeGoddess]

and i have the right to express mine: disgusting filthy *****, die

[sneakyishere]

Actually can't fully grasp that they actually said that. Something is shifting, for the worse

[Selegend]

well trump just got elected so what else would we expect a company that focuses on profit would do about a successful franchise? would they stop it cuz of transphobia?

dark times. 

Edited 4 hours ago by Selegend

[Abracadabra]

Well it's true, she does have a right to express her personal views. We also have the right to think she's a dickhead.

[BabyBenzz]

the ending of woke and cancel culture has started 

[JO1s]

So why are you suing people into silence for expressing their views on you Ms jk?

[Keeandga]

I don't see how this isn't hate speech 

[Dolce Vita]

we're really living in dark times 

[RideOrDie]

warner RATS... this show is going to suck, their new CEO is a company destroying RAT with his budget cuts. they ruined HOTD2. and now transphobia. y'all thought they would be blasting her. wrong! please, they probably hate LGBT more than miss rowling herself.

[Reginald]

And we have a right to consider her a cringe, mediocre writer,  

 

Or a terminally-online brainrotted Gen X edgelord whose house is filled with black mold  

 

Or a fake feminist, who undermines women's rights by siding with the same people who are determined to set women back to the 1950s  

 

 

Edited 4 hours ago by Reginald

[Lady Claire]

Disgusting trash. Also it's time for people to move on from Harry Potter 

[M!X]

on top of all of this, the TV show will be terrible so it will all be for nothing

 

 

[getBusy]

They really said "profits over people" and didn't even hide 

[UnusualBoy]

**** them!!

[BorderBoy]

9 minutes ago, Lady Claire said:

Disgusting trash. Also it's time for people to move on from Harry Potter 

This tbh. I never understood the obsession as if it was the greatest thing ever lol.

[Aristede]

This is Trump's America now. Things have changed. They're saying "if most of our consumers feel the same way then why should we care?" 

[Anthinos]

It's sad but it's the Zeitgeist we live in. The only thing we as progressives can do is to build a counter-culture like the right did.

[Augmented]

Shes a disgusting C*NT and i hope she rots 

[awesomepossum]

30 minutes ago, Keeandga said:

I don't see how this isn't hate speech 

which part

[awesomepossum]

27 minutes ago, Reginald said:

And we have a right to consider her a cringe, mediocre writer,  

so she wasn't a cringe mediocre writer when she wrote the best-selling book series of all time, but she suddenly became a cringe, mediocre writer because she said something you disagree with?

[Minto]

fanastic beast lost more money each movie they made and a rehash of the original books will be picked apart by crazy potter heads….what's the point in this? 

[LittleCupid]

Am I the only one not shocked or surprised? People have been supporting the HP brand financially even after everything she said so they have no reason to care about her bigotry. She makes them cash and since the transphobic Republicans are in charge they don't have to hide their real thoughts anymore.

[Reginald]

7 minutes ago, awesomepossum said:

so she wasn't a cringe mediocre writer when she wrote the best-selling book series of all time, but she suddenly became a cringe, mediocre writer because she said something you disagree with?

Hey there  Harry Potter has been an overrated, mediocre series my whole lifetime, and I'm glad that more people are able to openly say that without being dogpiled by Potterheads. I say this as someone who grew up alongside the fandom, read all of the books, and saw all of the movies. They're not particularly good or unique, and there are plenty of other fantasy writers who deserve more praise than JK Rowling.

 

 

Edited 3 hours ago by Reginald

[Minto]

4 minutes ago, awesomepossum said:

so she wasn't a cringe mediocre writer when she wrote the best-selling book series of all time, but she suddenly became a cringe, mediocre writer because she said something you disagree with?

 

do you think people unanimously agreed that harry potter was some sort of literary bible before jk's transphobia? at best it was a solid YA fantasy please don't equate sales to quality.