Actress Bel Powley, cast as Petunia Dursley in the upcoming ‘Harry Potter’ series, has called out J.K. Rowling for her actions. Joining a long list of stars from the ‘Harry Potter’ movie and TV show franchise who have clarified they do not stand by the famed author’s views, Powley also called her out for her anti-trans views. Read ahead to know more about what she shared.
Bel Powley reacts to J. K. Rowling’s views against the transgender community
Though Bel Powley is working on the ‘Harry Potter’ franchise, which also has J.K. Rowling as the executive producer, she does not stand by the author’s views on the transgender community. While talking to The Telegraph, the actress condemned Rowling’s views and shared, “I strongly disagree with J.K. Rowling’s views on gender. I think that the trans community deserves safety and dignity and respect and total acceptance.”Regarding her involvement in the franchise, she shared the same sentiment as many others: she grew up with the books and the films that originally starred Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint in the leading roles. She shared, “But I love ‘Harry Potter.’ I grew up with the books. I am from that first generation of readers, and, again, I love magic and spookiness.”She is not the only cast member from the TV series who has spoken out against J.K. Rowling’s views. John Lithgow, who will play Albus Dumbledore in the show slated for release in December this year, also recently opened up about being connected to the beloved series along with the controversial author. In an old interview with The New Yorker Radio Hour, the actor revealed that he had quite a lot of conflicting thoughts on the show, and had even considered leaving it altogether.“The reasons to do it were much, much stronger than the reasons to protest against what Rowling has done and said. I do disagree with much of it, much of it I think has been twisted and misrepresented, and she has doubled down on it at her own cost,” he told the outlet.
About the ‘Harry Potter’ TV series
The TV series will follow all of the original books from J.K. Rowling, with each season covering one book. The first season, based on the book ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone,’ will be released in December this year. In addition to Bel and Lithgow, the show has also cast Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape, Nick Frost as Hagrid, Dominic McLaughlin as Harry Potter, Alastair Stout as Ron Weasley, Arabella Stanton as Hermione Granger, Janet McTeer as Minerva McGonagall, and many others.The second season is already in production, which will be based on the book, ‘Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.’
