Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling has been a controversial figure for the past couple of years due to her views on transgender people which are deemed as transphobic. Several cast members of the Harry Potter film franchise have since then spoken out against the author while there are some who have also given her support. Now, another actor from the franchise has come to her defense.
In a recent interview with The Times, Helena Bonham Carter, who plays Bellatrix Lestrange in the Harry Potter films, discussed the backlash that Rowling has received and defended her from those who were criticizing her views as she felt that she is allowed to express her own opinions even if it's disagreeable.
"I think she has been hounded. It’s been taken to the extreme, the judgmentalism of people. She’s allowed her opinion, particularly if she’s suffered abuse. Everybody carries their own history of trauma and forms their opinions from that trauma, and you have to respect where people come from and their pain," she said.
"You don’t all have to agree on everything — that would be insane and boring. She’s not meaning it aggressively, she’s just saying something out of her own experience. Personally I feel [my costars] should let her have her opinions, but I think they’re very aware of protecting their own fan base and their generation."
Bonham Carter follows the footsteps of her fellow Harry Potter co-star Ralph Fiennes, who also recently defended the author as he also slammed the backlash and threats that he received.
"The verbal abuse directed at her is disgusting, it’s appalling," he told The New York Times. "I mean, I can understand a viewpoint that might be angry at what she says about women. But it’s not some obscene, über-right-wing fascist."
Meanwhile, Daniel Radcliffe explained in another interview with IndieWire recently why he opted to speak out against the author when the controversy happened.
"The reason I was felt very, very much as though I needed to say something when I did was because, particularly since finishing Potter, I’ve met so many queer and trans kids and young people who had a huge amount of identification with Potter on that," the actor said.
Also Read: Helena Bonham Carter Feels Johnny Depp Is Vindicated From Ex-Wife Amber Heard Trial
All Harry Potter films are streaming on Peacock. You can check more details about it here.
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