It’s clear that many fans are upset with JK Rowling after her most recent transphobic tweets made headlines. (“Most recent” being the important part of that, considering she has a history of transphobic comments.) Yesterday, we saw that ‘Harry Potter’ star Daniel Radcliffe spoke out against the comments, showing his support for the trans community. And today, ‘Fantastic Beasts’ star Eddie Redmayne did the same.
In a statement to Variety, Redmayne spoke out against the transphobic comments from Rowling:
“Respect for transgender people remains a cultural imperative, and over the years I have been trying to constantly educate myself. This is an ongoing process. As someone who has worked with both J.K. Rowling and members of the trans community, I wanted to make it absolutely clear where I stand. I disagree with Jo’s comments. Trans women are women, trans men are men and non-binary identities are valid. I would never want to speak on behalf of the community but I do know that my dear transgender friends and colleagues are tired of this constant questioning of their identities, which all too often results in violence and abuse. They simply want to live their lives peacefully, and it’s time to let them do so.”
As mentioned, this statement comes after Rowling’s most recent transphobic tweets, claiming that there are only two sexes and that she doesn’t hate trans people but is speaking about scientific fact. What’s interesting about Redmayne’s comments is that he’s still the star of the ‘Fantastic Beasts’ franchise, which is gearing up to begin production on the third film in a proposed five-film series. Rowling is much more involved in the creation of these films, as she is the writer of each of them. And after these comments, it’ll be interesting to see how Warner Bros. feels about keeping Rowling onboard the production and the future of the franchise.
The studio is already trying to figure out how to keep the ‘Fantastic Beasts’ films afloat after the first entry failed to excite fans and the second film saw a huge drop in box office and critical acclaim. In addition to Rowling being a lightning rod for controversy, the ‘Fantastic Beasts’ series also stars Johnny Depp, who is embroiled in a court battle over domestic violence accusations, and Ezra Miller, who recently was shown in a video choking a woman. Needless to say, there’s a lot of controversy surrounding the Wizarding World over the past couple of years.
Regardless, we know the third ‘Fantastic Beasts’ film is probably going into production later this year, with a 2021 release likely.