J.K. Rowling said in a new post on X that she does not have the power to fire Paapa Essiedu from HBO’s “Harry Potter” television series, nor would she exercise such power if she had it. “I May Destroy You” Emmy nominee Essiedu is set to play Severus Snape on the show. The actor recently signed an open letter condemning the U.K. Supreme Court for ruling that transgender women are not legally considered women and transgender men are not legally considered men.
“I don’t have the power to sack an actor from the series and I wouldn’t exercise it if I did,” Rowling wrote on X while sharing an article about Essiedu. “I don’t believe in taking away people’s jobs or livelihoods because they hold legally protected beliefs that differ from mine.”
Rowling has courted controversy since 2020 for regularly sharing beliefs on social media that many believe are transphobic. The author also uses platforms like X to regularly troll her critics and take aim at public figures (such as slamming John Oliver’s comments on trans athletes). Both HBO and the new “Harry Potter” cast have received backlash for getting into business with Rowling due to her anti-trans posts.
HBO confirmed last month the first round of cast members for the new “Harry Potter” series, including John Lithgow as Albus Dumbledore, Janet McTeer as Minerva McGonagall and Nick Frost as Rubeus Hagrid. When news broke that Essiedu signed an open letter in support of the trans community, many “Harry Potter” fans wondered how Rowling might react. The letter was signed by other high-profile actors such as “Bridgerton” star Nicola Coughlan, “The Last of Us” actor Bella Ramsey and more.
“We the undersigned film and television professionals stand in solidarity with the trans, non-binary and intersex communities who have been impacted by the Supreme Court ruling on April 17,” the letter read. “The Supreme Court’s ruling that, under the Equality Act, ‘woman’ is defined by biological sex, states that ‘the concept of sex is binary, a person is either a woman or a man’. We believe the ruling undermines the lived reality and threatens the safety of trans, non-binary and intersex people living in the UK.”
“Film and television are powerful tools for empathy and education, and we believe passionately in the ability of the screen to change hearts and minds,” the letter continued. “This is our opportunity to be on the right side of history.”
At a press event last year, Bloys told reporters that Rowling was “very, very involved in the process” of selecting showrunner Francesca Gardiner and director Mark Mylod to lead the charge on the “Harry Potter” TV series. He added that Rowling’s anti-trans statements “haven’t affected the casting or hiring of writers or productions staff” for the show. A spokesperson for the network added in a statement to Variety at the time that Rowling’s “contribution” to the larger Warner Bros. Discovery company “has been invaluable.”
Speaking on “The Town” podcast earlier this month, Bloys stressed to “Harry Potter” fans that the network’s upcoming series will not be “infused” with Rowling’s controversial views on the transgender community.
“The decision to be in business with J.K. Rowling is not new for us. We’ve been in business for 25 years,” Bloys said. “We already have a show on HBO from her called ‘C.B. Strike’ that we do with the BBC. It’s pretty clear that those are her personal, political views. She’s entitled to them. ‘Harry Potter’ is not secretly being infused with anything. And if you want to debate her, you can go on Twitter.”
The “Harry Potter” series is expected to go into production later this year for a premiere sometime in 2026.
