Robbie Coltrane Is The Only Harry Potter Cast Member Defending JK Rowling
Robbie Coltrane is the only one out here willing to go to bat for JK Rowling's transphobic comments.
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Robbie Coltrane has decided to throw his hat in with JK Rowling after the Harry Potter author came under fire for transphobic comments. The actor is best known for his portrayal of Hagrid in the Harry Potter film series.
After being asked about his feelings towards those that have been calling out JK Rowling, Robbie Coltrane said to the Radio Times, “I don’t think what she said was offensive really.” The Gooby star believes that a lot of the responses are coming from “a whole Twitter generation of people who hang around waiting to be offended.”
However, Robbie Coltrane did not want to get deeper into the weeds with the issue “because of all the hate mail and all that s***, which I don’t need at my time of life.” But, once you have dipped your toe into the discourse, it is very hard to get back out of it.
This has all been sparked due to a new novel from JK Rowling, Troubled Blood, in which her antagonist is a cross-dressing serial killer. A review of the novel seems to take away that Rowling’s message is “never trust a man in a dress.” Rowling writes this mystery series under the pseudonym of Robert Galbraith. This name is also shared by Robert Galbraith Heath, a psychiatrist who engaged in gay conversion experiments.
JK Rowling has found herself at the forefront of a lot of transgender discussions and controversies. She was in hot water earlier this year when she started comparing “hormones and surgery” prescribed to trans people to “a new kind of conversion therapy.” It has made her an enormous target for those who are supportive of trans rights.
Robbie Coltrane is the only member of the Harry Potter cast that has decided to show any support towards JK Rowling. Other notable stars from the fantasy film franchise have actually spoken out against Rowling’s comments. Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint have all publicly denounced Rowling’s views.
It will be interesting to see if this controversy is going to affect Rowling’s future with the Wizarding World franchise. Rowling is the sole writing credit on Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and its sequel, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. Warner Bros. has announced three more Fantastic Beasts films with Rowling as the screenwriter for all the entries. Could these controversies end up tanking development on the series?
As for Robbie Coltrane, he seems to be sticking primarily to television roles in recent years. Attaching himself to Rowling’s latest round of controversy might not be the best career move for the 70-year-old actor. Still, his show of support sounds less informed on the issues at hand and more about standing up for a friend. It is going to be intriguing to see if Coltrane receives a similar amount of backlash for his decision to stand beside Rowling.
As of this writing, Rowling has not commented on the reaction to her serial killer character in Troubled Blood. She also hasn’t reacted to the claim that she has just ripped off a plot from the 1994 Jim Carrey comedy, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective.
