In completely unsurprising news considering he portrayed her own bloody villain, Ralph Fiennes, who played Voldemort in the Harry Potter movies, has defended JK Rowling, saying he “can’t understand the vitriol” Rowling copped after her comments about gender were seen as wildly transphobic.
Fiennes remarked on the backlash in a new interview with The Telegraph, noting that he found the response to her comments about the trans community in tweets and lengthy blog posts, to be “disturbing”.
“I can’t understand the vitriol directed at her,” he said in the interview.
“I can understand the heat of an argument, but I find this age of accusation and the need to condemn irrational.
“I find the level of hatred that people express about views that differ from theirs, and the violence of language towards others, disturbing.”
Let us just take a moment to recall exactly what JK Rowling said in her infamous essay on her blog in June 2020, and how she said she refuses to “bow down to a movement that I believe is doing demonstrable harm in seeking to erode ‘woman’ as a political and biological class and offering cover to predators like few before it.”
Or that time she liked a transphobic tweet back in 2018, and then blamed it on a ~middle-aged moment~ like it was a big whoopsie.
Or how she was working on an allegedly transphobic book under the pen name Robert Galbraith called Troubled Blood, which tells the story of a cis-gendered male serial killer who dresses like a woman to commit murders.
Yikes. But also, definitely the kind of bullshit evil that Voldemort would 1000% side with and defend to an inch of his borrowed-time life.
People on Twitter quickly slammed Fiennes’ comments and defence of Rowling, and how his perspective is uncannily aligned with something his Harry Potter character would be into.
ralph fiennes out here showing off that he was perfect casting for voldemort as he supports the condemnation and hate speech towards the trans community. we hate to see it.
— 🍒 skye walker (@ahsokasoveralls) March 18, 2021
Voldemort won’t say ‘trans rights’?
— Aimee Evelyn ????️???? (@AimeeEvelyn202) March 18, 2021
Listen, I never even went there, but “Voldemort agrees with JK Rowling about trans people” is both funny and scary
— Rob Z 🌠 | he/they (@RobThez) March 18, 2021
Interesting how Radcliffe, Grint and Watson played the roles of the main trinity in Harry Potter – the good guys – are against JKRs views on trans people while Fiennes, who played Voldemort – the /villain/ – is siding with JKR. 🤔🤔🤔
Says a lot really 👀
— ✨ The Star Doctor ✨ (@Time_Siren) March 18, 2021
Fiennes isn’t the only former Harry Potter actor who’s gone into bat for Rowling in regards to her anti-trans commentary. Let us also not forget that Robbie Coltrane, who played Hagrid in the franchise, also defended Rowling’s transphobia.
If you’d like to talk about the issues raised in this story, you can call the QLife LGBTI peer support hotline on 1800 184 527 or chat online.
QLife operates between 3pm and midnight daily.
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