The Harry Potter reunion special that appeared a few days ago, ‘Harry Potter: Return to Hogwarts’ (Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts, 2020) that is airing on HBO Max and, although most of the cast and crew are gathered for the special, there was a notable absence. the creator and author of Harry Potter, JK Rowling did not appear in the special that featured, among others, the stars Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint. Rowling also did not provide a new interview for the special and now the reason for her absence has been confirmed.
With nothing to do with your posture of hatred of trans people?
A news item from Entertainment Weekly has indicated that the reason that people had attributed to the absence, Rowling’s controversial transphobic comments, according to sources close to the situation, would not have been part of the decision of the author’s absence at the meeting. Rowling has come under fire from Harry Potter fans in recent years, after a series of anti-trans tweets that she does not retract from, but according to EW, Rowling was invited to participate in the special, but her team eventually decided that there was enough of Rowling’s previous comments. for the reunion and the special ended including archive footage from 2019.
Although the reason came from the writer, it does not seem very likely that she wanted to interact with the stars of the Harry Potter saga, Grint, Radcliffe and WatsonWhat do you think about Rowling’s comments? expressed their support for the trans community, and Radcliffe in particular wrote a statement on The Trevor Project in 2020 strongly condemning Rowling’s words.
“To all the people who now feel that their experience with the books has been tarnished or diminished, I am deeply sorry for the pain these comments have caused you. I really hope that you do not completely lose what was valuable in these stories to you. Yes. These books taught you that love is the strongest force in the universe, capable of overcoming anything; if they taught you that strength is found in diversity, and that dogmatic ideas of purity lead to the oppression of vulnerable groups; yes do you think a particular character is trans, non-binary or gender fluid, or is gay or bisexual; if you found something in these stories that resonated with you and helped you at any point in your life, then that is between you and the book you read, and it’s sacred. And in my opinion, no one can touch that. It means to you what it means to you, and I hope those comments don’t tarnish it too much. “
Although Rowling did not participate in the special, there were others involved. In addition to Radcliffe, Watson and Grint, his former co-stars Tom Felton, Matthew Lewis, Bonnie Wright, Evanna Lynch, James and Oliver Phelps, Alfred Enoch, Helena Bonham Carter, Robbie Coltrane, Ralph Fiennes, Jason Isaacs, Gary Oldman, Mark Williams, Ian Hart and Toby Jones participated. In addition, the producer of the franchise Davide Heyman, as well as the directors. Chris Columbus, Alfonso Cuaron, Mike Newell and David Yates.