Daniel Radcliffe Defends Trans Rights After J.K. Rowling’s Anti-Trans Tweets: ‘Transgender Women Are Women’

Actor Daniel Radcliffe is speaking out in defense of transgender rights after ‘Harry Potter’ author J.K. Rowling sent some controversial anti-trans tweets out into the Twitterverse over the weekend.

“Transgender women are women,” Radcliffe wrote in his essay for The Trevor Project. “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 acknowledged that Rowling was instrumental in his acting career and that this may appear as “in-fighting,” but that he felt “compelled” to speak out about the tweets in defense of the transgender community. Radcliffe cited the statistic that 78 percent of transgender or nonbinary youth experience discrimination due to their gender identity.

Rowling started tweeting on Saturday in response to an article headline that mentioned that “people menstruate.” Rowling retweeted the article, posted by devex.com, with the comment “‘People who menstruate.’ I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?” and the backlash happened almost immediately, causing Rowling to tweet further.

“If sex isn’t real, there’s no same-sex attraction. If sex isn’t real, the lived reality of women globally is erased,” Rowling followed up. “I know and love trans people, but erasing the concept of sex removes the ability of many to meaningfully discuss their lives. It isn’t hate to speak the truth.”

Some of Rowling’s diehard ‘Harry Potter’ fans expressed their disappointment in the comments, and Radcliffe addressed those who may have been let down the tweets.

“To all the people who now feel that their experience of the books has been tarnished or diminished, I am deeply sorry for the pain these comments have caused you. I really hope that you don’t entirely lose what was valuable in these stories to you.” Radcliffe addressed in his essay. “If these books taught you that love is the strongest force in the universe, capable of overcoming anything; if they taught you that strength is found in diversity, and that dogmatic ideas of pureness lead to the oppression of vulnerable groups; if you believe that a particular character is trans, nonbinary, or gender fluid, or that they are gay or bisexual; if you found anything in these stories that resonated with you and helped you at any time in your life — then that is between you and the book that you read, and it is sacred. And in my opinion, nobody can touch that.”