Daniel Radcliffe admits JK Rowling makes him ‘really sad’ now-Danni Scott-Entertainment – Metro

Daniel Radcliffe has addressed JK Rowling’s trans views (Picture: Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images for The Roku Channel)

Daniel Radcliffe has finally spoken out about JK Rowling’s stance on trans women after she declared she wouldn’t accept any apologies from him.

The 34-year-old actor has been a vocal supporter of the trans community but has been careful not to address the 58-year-old author on the topic.

Rowling has increasingly made what have been criticised as ‘anti-trans’ statements as she dared the Scottish police to arrest her over a Hate Crime Act coming into effect.

Her X account is incredibly active, with the children’s author posting constantly on the topic of trans women, misgendering them and stirring up outcry.

By contrast, Radcliffe has stayed fairly quiet and opted to work directly with charities like The Trevor Project, steering clear of the elephant in the room — until now.

The Miracle Workers star confessed: ‘It makes me really sad, ultimately, because I do look at the person that I met, the times that we met, and the books that she wrote, and the world that she created, and all of that is to me so deeply empathic.’

JK Rowling said she would not accept an apology from the cast (Picture: Yui Mok/PA Wire)

The cast has not offered any apologies over their support for trans people (Picture: Warner Bros)

At just 11 years old Radcliffe shot to fame as titular Harry Potter in the huge book franchise, helming the series to it’s conclusion over a decade later.

He continued to the Atlantic: ‘Jo, obviously Harry Potter would not have happened without her, so nothing in my life would have probably happened the way it is without that person. But that doesn’t mean that you owe the things you truly believe to someone else for your entire life.’

This rare comment on Rowling comes after his name was brought up by a fan who was ‘waiting’ for him and Emma Watson to ‘offer a very public apology’ after the Cass review was published.

The overarching findings of the 388-page report conducted by Dr Hilary Cass stated that children had been ‘let down’ thus far by a failure to base gender care on evidence-based research.

Radcliffe did state he appreciates Harry Potter for his career (Picture: Dave M. Benett/Getty Images)

He has since appeared on Broadway and in numerous films (Picture: Steven Ferdman/Getty Images)

In response, Rowling tweeted: ‘Not safe I’m afraid. Celebs who cosied up to a movement intent on eroding women’s hard-won rights and who used their platforms to cheer on the transitioning of minors can save their apologies for traumatised detransitioners and vulnerable women reliant on single sex spaces.’

Four years ago, when the first wave of Rowling’s tweets erupted, the Guns Akimbo star clarified he believes ‘trans women are women’.

He wrote a nuanced statement on the project’s website, which acknowledged the feelings of many that the popular franchise had been tainted by her.

The franchise wrapped in 2011 after a decade (Picture: Warner Bros.)

Rowling and the cast have been at odds since 2020 (Picture: WireImage)

Speaking of the Trevor Project, an LGBTQ suicide-prevention hotline and crisis-intervention resource, Radcliffe explained he had worked with the team for 12 years.

‘It would have seemed like, I don’t know, immense cowardice to me to not say something,’ he continued.

‘I wanted to try and help people that had been negatively affected by the comments. And to say that if those are Jo’s views, then they are not the views of everybody associated with the Potter franchise.’

Radcliffe added: ‘I will continue to support the rights of all LGBTQ people, and have no further comment than that.’

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