Harry Potter is one of the most cherished franchises in the world, with both children and grownups of any gender and race wholeheartedly adoring its narrative and characters. However, when its creator, J.K. Rowling, previously expressed her offensive comments towards the transgender community, fans were left tormented and utterly disappointed. Despite the obvious hurtful remarks of the author, Succession star Brian Cox is one of the people who came to the writer's defense.
In a recent interview with BBC One’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg via Metro, Cox backed Rowling, “I don’t like the way she’s been treated, actually. I think she’s entitled to her opinion, she’s entitled to say what she feels,” he said. “As a woman, she’s very much entitled to say what she feels about her own body. There’s nobody better to say that, as a woman. So, I do feel that people have been a bit high and mighty about their own attitude toward J.K. Rowling.”
Rowling received backlash from fans, particularly from L.G.B.T.Q. groups, after she tweeted and mocked an article that used the phrase “people who menstruate.” She also published a 3,000-word essay stating her opinions about gender issues. Just last year, the famous author also protested against the Gender Recognition Reform Bill and said that it was “the biggest assault on the rights of Scottish women and girls.”
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Cox’s endearing support for Rowling was first expressed during the actor’s interview with Piers Morgan in May. “I thought there was something deeply unjust about it. And I just felt that. It is happening time and time again. It is not only the people who are canceled. It is also people like their families, like their children, like their parents. It has such ramifications.” he said.
Rowling’s sentiments received mixed reactions from different Hollywood stars, especially from the beloved stars of her Harry Potter books. Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint have publicly condemned her remarks, with Helena Bonham Carter, who played Bellatrix Lestrange in the films, feeling the same.
Despite the fans' visibly hurt reactions, Rowling announced last year that she would publish a new book about a character who is criticized for her views on the transgender community in order to justify her derogatory remarks; a book that suggests the main character is a victim of a hate campaign; the book will be published under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith and will be part of the crime thriller series Cormoran Strike.
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The book will be titled The Ink Black Heart, and it follows YouTube cartoonist Edie Ledwell as she deals with trolls and her own fandom turns against her, accusing her works of being racist and transphobic. She receives death and rape threats and is ultimately found dead in a cemetery. The story is reportedly meant to mirror Rowling’s experience.