Tom Felton bucked a persistent trend among Harry Potter‘s younger stars this week when he backed its creator JK Rowling as she comes under fire for her views on gender ideology.
The actor, now 37, played Harry’s nemesis Draco Malfoy in the movies from 2001 until 2011 and will reprise the role for for the Broadway show Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.
And more than two decades after Rowling helped give him his big break, he doubled down on his support for the franchise’s author, insisting he is ‘grateful’ for what she has done for him.
Asked if the controversy around the writer’s views on trans rights affect his work, Felton replied: ‘No, I can’t say it does. I’m not really that attuned.
‘The only thing I always remind myself is that I’ve been lucky enough to travel the world.
‘Here I am in New York. And I have not seen anything bring the world together more than Potter, and she’s responsible for that. So I’m incredibly grateful.’
The praise reinforced his comments in 2021 ‘celebrating’ Rowling’s books and their influence on people across the world.
But his fellow stars have been less forthcoming in showing their appreciation for Rowling, with some going so far as to distance themselves from the woman who made their careers as she comes under fire for her social stances.
JK Rowling’s views on gender ideology have divided the Harry Potter cast. While many of the younger stars have hit out at the author’s views, some of the older cast have stood by her
And Tom Felton, pictured on Sunday, detached himself from some of his younger Potter colleagues this week when he doubled down on his support for the series’ creator
The likes of Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint, pictured L-R with Rowling in 2011, have distance themselves from the woman who made their careers
Daniel Radcliffe, who played Harry in the blockbuster films, now no longer speaks with the author after falling out with her about gender ideology.
The actor, 34, initially feuded with the Scottish writer after he penned an article declaring ‘transgender women are women’ shortly after Rowling criticised the use of the phrase ‘people who menstruate’ rather than women.
She mocked the piece writing: ‘I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?’
Shortly afterwards, Radcliffe penned an article for The Trevor Project – an LGBT+ suicide prevention charity that said ‘transgender women are women’.
He added: ‘Any statement to the contrary erases the identity and dignity of transgender people and goes against all advice given by professional health care associations who have far more expertise on this subject matter than either Jo or I.’
Radcliffe also apologised to those who he said may feel as though their enjoyment of the Harry Potter series had been ‘tarnished or diminished’.
Now three years later, Radcliffe has revealed the pair no longer speak which he said makes him ‘really sad’.
He admitted ‘nothing in my life’ would have happened if it was not for the 58-year-old writer, but added that it did not mean he ‘owes’ what he ‘truly believes’ to Rowling for his ‘entire life’.
Most of the criticism for Rowling has come from actors born into the millenial generation, with older actors proving quicker to back the series’ creator
Radcliffe, who played Harry in the blockbuster films, now no longer speaks with the author after falling out with her about gender ideology (pictured, as Harry in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban in 2004)
The actor, pictured in April, initially feuded with the Scottish writer after he penned an article declaring ‘transgender women are women’
Watson starred as Hermione Granger, pictured in Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part One in 2010, and said in a tweet following Rowling’s initial comments: ‘Trans people are who they say they are’
Watson has repeatedly spoken out in favour of trans rights both before (top) and after (bottom) Rowling’s comments in June 2020
Co-stars Emma Watson and Rupert Grint, who played the starring trio, have also taken a strong stance against the author instead confirming their continued support to the trans community.
Watson said in a tweet following Rowling’s initial comments: ‘Trans people are who they say they are and deserve to live their lives without being constantly questioned or told they aren’t who they say they are.’
The 33-year-old, who played school chum Hermione Granger, previously shared an image of herself in a t-shirt reading: ‘Trans rights are human rights.’
At the 2022 Baftas she also appeared to make a subtle dig towards Rowling. Host Rebel Wilson had called her onto the stage, adding ‘she calls her self a feminist, but we all know she’s a witch’.
Watson then replied ‘I’m here for all the witches’ which many viewers deemed was the actress making a jibe at Rowling.
That same year, Grint, who played Ron in the films, described Rowling as his ‘auntie’ but added in an article in The Times: ‘I don’t necessarily agree with everything my auntie says, but she’s still my auntie. It’s a tricky one.’
Other younger members of the cast have also joined their chorus in recent years including Bonnie Wright (Ginnie Weasley), Chris Rankin (Percy Weasley) and Katie Leung (Cho Chang).
Rupert Grint, who played Ron, pictured, in the films, described Rowling as his ‘auntie’ but added in an article in The Times: ‘I don’t necessarily agree with everything my auntie says’
The actor, pictured in 2023, distanced herself from remarks made by the series’ author
Katie Leung, pictured alongside Radcliffe in Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part One, also detached herself subtly from Rowling’s comments
Radcliffe has long been a supporter of the Trevor Project, an LGBTQ suicide-prevention hotline and crisis-intervention resource (pictured with the child stars in 2001)
Radcliffe, Watson and Grint, pictured L-R with Rowling in 2010, have all spoken out against Rowling’s views on trans rights
Wright said simply in a tweet following Rowling’s comments: ‘Transwomen are women. I see and love you.’
Leung started a thread on Twitter in 2020 that purported to offer her thoughts on Cho Chang’s character – before sharing links to a number of organisations supporting transgender people of colour.
Responding to the initial backlash from those who benefited from her book series she said it was ‘nonsense’ to suggest she ‘hated’ trans people.
‘I respect every trans person’s right to live any way that feels authentic and comfortable to them,’ she wrote in 2020.
‘I’d march with you if you were discriminated against on the basis of being trans. At the same time, my life has been shaped by being female. I do not believe it’s hateful to say so.’
And in April, Rowling insisted she would never forgive the younger stars of the film franchise for speaking out against her views on trans rights.
Responding to a tweet that asked whether the likes of Radcliffe and Watson would apologise to the author, ‘safe in the knowledge that you will forgive them’, she said: ‘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,’ the writer added.
Some older Potter stars, such as the late Robbie Coltrane, pictured in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in 2005, have defended Rowling’s stance on trans rights
Jason Isaacs, pictured in May, who played Lucius Malfoy in the films, told the Telegraph in 2022: ‘There’s a bunch of stuff about Jo… I don’t want to get drawn into the trans issues’
Meanwhile Ralph Fiennes, pictured in May, said in 2021 that he could not understand the ‘level of hatred’ directed towards the author
Felton has joined a small group of stars supporting Rowling, bucking the trend set by the likes of Radcliffe, Watson and Grint
Most of the criticism for Rowling has come from actors born into the millenial generation, with older actors proving quicker to back the series’ creator.
Ralph Fiennes and the late Robbie Coltrane, who were established stars long before landing their roles in the noughties hit, defended the author’s right to her own opinion – even expressing sympathy at the sheer amount of hate she had received.
Jason Isaacs, who played Lucius Malfoy in the films, told the Telegraph in 2022: ‘There’s a bunch of stuff about Jo… I don’t want to get drawn into the trans issues, talking about them, because it’s such an extraordinary minefield.
‘One of the things that people should know about her too – not as a counter-argument – is that she has poured an enormous amount of her fortune into making the world a much better place… through her charity Lumos.
‘And that is unequivocally good. Many of us Harry Potter actors have worked for it, and seen on the ground the work that they do.’
Meanwhile Ralph Fiennes, who played Voldemort, said in 2021 that he could not understand the ‘level of hatred’ directed towards the author, adding that he found it disturbing.
‘(The) verbal abuse directed at (Rowling) is disgusting, it’s appalling. I mean, I can understand a viewpoint that might be angry at what she says about women,’ he told The New York Times.
‘But it’s not some obscene, uber-right-wing fascist. It’s just a woman saying: “I’m a woman and I feel like I’m a woman and I want to be able to say that I’m a woman”.’
Rowling has said she is unlikely to forgive Radcliffe and Watson for taking the stance that they have on trans people
The Harry Potter author recently responded on X, formerly known as Twitter, to the publication of the Cass review on gender treatment
The late Robbie Coltrane, who played the half-giant gamekeeper Rubeus Hagrid in the Potter films, also defended Rowling before his death in October 2022.
He told the Radio Times in 2020 that the author’s critics ‘hang around waiting to be offended’, adding: ‘They wouldn’t have won the war, would they?’
Evanna Lynch, who played Luna Lovegood in the Potter films, initially said Rowling was on ‘the wrong side of this debate’, but later rowed back on some of her comments in February 2023.
She praised Rowling for amplifying the voices of those who choose to detransition after believing they were trans – but added to the Telegraph that she did not want to add to trans people’s ‘pain’.
