JK Rowling’s comments on the trans community continue to haunt her as this week she was ‘cancelled’ by a British Church of England school and it’s been revealed that she has no contributions to an HBOMax special celebrating 20 years since the first Harry Potter movie came out.
Clearly Emma Watson is still irked by JK Rowling’s stance as she posted a veiled criticism of the author highlighting how inclusion was so important to the Harry Potter community and still is. Rowling has never reneged on her gender critical views and seems to be paying the price.
The school in question is the Holy Trinity Church of England Primary School in Richmond, which has renamed houses honouring Britain’s wartime leader Winston Churchill and the Harry Potter author, replaced by footballer and school dinners campaigner Marcus Rashford and nurse Mary Seacole.
In a letter to parents, the school chair of governors Michele Marcus said: ‘The change was entirely driven and led by our pupils and they feel proud of having effected this change and knowing their views were heard. There may be further interest in the subject and I hope you will support the school in our position.’
As for the HBO Max special, practically the whole cast and select members of the crew have given new interviews but they have sidestepped the need to use JK Rowling by saying it’s simply about the anniversary of the movie as opposed to the books which came along a lot earlier.
Either way you look at it, both situations are slights to JK Rowling and she cannot help but be affected by what’s occurred. Her wildly unpopular views (especially amongst the cast of the Harry Potter movies) were relatively early on in what has become a global culture war with trans people at the heart, being dragged into a political nightmare they don’t even slightly deserve.