Chris Rankin, a British actor who portrayed Percy Weasley in the Harry Potter series, has joined the chorus of those criticising J.K.Rowling over stance on trans people.
As the scandal around her "transphobic" views resurfaced after the author slammed the decision by Police Scotland to log biologically male rapists as women if they self-identify as such, Rankin branded Rowling's opinion "damaging".
"When a trans person says they are male or female, that is what they are and that is how we should treat them. It is damaging to them to say otherwise", the actor said, underlining that he "does a lot of work with charities that are LGBTQ+ focused".
Rowling has faced accusations of transphobia ever since she mocked an article for using the words "people who menstruate" instead of "women", with many trans activists attempting to "cancel" and boycott her. Recently, she reacted to the Police Scotland decision, paraphrasing George Orwell: "War is Peace. Freedom is Slavery. Ignorance is Strength. The Penised Individual Who Raped You Is a Woman".
The remark reignited the heated debates around the author, particularly fuelling rumours that she would be ignored in the upcoming HBO Harry Potter reunion. This, however, did not turn out to be true, as reports emerged this week saying that Rowling will be featured in the special episode despite not being mentioned in the trailer.
The HBO trailer was not the only one that failed to mention her name. In December, a trailer for another movie "Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore", came out - without a traditional nod to Rowling in the credits. Instead of "J.K. Rowling invites you" - a line seen in the trailers for the two previous movies - is now "Warner Bros invites you".
Rowling categorically denies being transphobic, saying in her passionate essay on the issue that she "knows" and "loves" trans people, "but erasing the concept of sex removes the ability of many to meaningfully discuss their lives".
While many on social media side with Rowling's critics, there is also a great number of people who oppose boycotting or targeting her in any way - especially after the author revealed that she has faced multiple death threats from trans rights activists.