While the entire cast and crew of the Harry Potter reunited at its 20th-anniversary reunion, J.K Rowling, the author, and creator of the Potter universe, shared she abstained from being a part of the special reunion that aired worldwide.
It has been speculated that the author was not seen in the special episode due to her controversial views about the LGBTQ community.
However, in the radio interview for Virgin Radio UK, the host asked the author about her “being excluded. On the talk show with the Irish host and entertainer, Graham Norton, where the author was promoting her recent “Robert Galbraith” mystery, The Ink Black Heart, Rowling said, “I was asked to be on that. I decided I didn’t want to do it. I thought it was about the films more than the books, quite rightly.” The author continued, “No one said, ‘Don’t come. I was asked to do it and I decided not to.”
In answering the following question Norton regarding her relationship with the young talents of the series, she said, “yes, I do, some more than others, but that was always the case. Some I knew better than others.”
Harry Potter fans who have seen the chemistry between the three-lead characters, Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ronald Weasely, played by Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint respectively, have shown their disappointment with Rowling’s views on gender.
Rowlings’s tweets were subjected to more scrutiny in June 2020, when she uses the term, “people who menstruate”. Radcliffe expressed his support for the transgender community in an interview published on The Trevor Project’s Website. In addition, Emma Watson clarified her disagreement with what Rowling had to say on Twitter.
Rowling’s statements have been called “transphobic” by organizations like GLAAD, the Human Rights Coalition, and The Trevor Project. In her defense, the author explained herself with a 3,700-word essay.
Before the reunion episode was aired on HBO MAX, Rowling’s team informed EW that the author abstained from participating and further clarified that controversial transgender views were not related to her involvement in the reunion episode.
Earlier this month, the author was compelled to seek help from the police for the online threats against her following her tweets on author Salman Rushdie being stabbed. In the interview, the author shared, “I try to behave online as I would like others to behave. I’ve never threatened anyone. I certainly wouldn’t want anyone to go to their houses or anything like that.”
Harry Potter series was J.K Rowling’s brainchild that began in the mid-1990s. The characters made their debut with the book Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone in 1997 followed by six sequels. All seven books sold more than 500 million copies around the world. The cinematic series of Harry Potter began in 2001 and was released in eight films. The series made $7.7 billion at the box office.
Also, the three-spinoff prequel films, Fantastic Beasts, grossed $1.8 billion at the box office. Both these series, together known as the Wizarding World franchise, have been described as the most successful media franchise in the world.
