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Credit: Warner Bros. More toil and trouble for the Harry Potter franchise.
People in the US may not have heard of Irish comedy writer Graham Linehan, but on the other side of the Atlantic, he’s known for some of the best sitcoms to have graced British television screens, like Father Ted (1995 — 1998) and The IT Crowd (2006 — 2013).
In recent years, however, Linehan, 55, has come under fire for his views on trans rights and is now a pariah within his industry. But what does this have to do with Harry Potter?
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In 2020, he was suspended from X/Twitter for saying, “men aren’t women tho” in response to a post from the Women’s Institute wishing a “Happy Pride” to the trans community.
It might sound all too familiar — in 2020, Harry Potter author JK Rowling caused a wave of controversy when she shared the below tweet:
“If sex isn’t real, there’s no same-sex attraction. If sex isn’t real, the lived reality of women globally is erased. 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.”
If sex isn’t real, there’s no same-sex attraction. If sex isn’t real, the lived reality of women globally is erased. 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.
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) June 6, 2020
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Rowling was later criticized for mocking the term “people who menstruate” on X/Twitter. Since then, she has come under fire for many subsequent tweets that reflect her views.
But despite having become a reviled figure to many members of the trans community and the Harry Potter fanbase, Rowling’s career, at least, seems mostly unaffected by the backlash. Linehan, on the other hand, recently opened up to The Mail on Sunday about how he found himself jobless, divorced, and depressed as a result.
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“During Covid, it was horrific because I was completely alone,” he tells them. “I was thinking, I could jump off that building. Would that be tall enough to kill me, or would I just be crippled for life?”
Linehan’s views on trans rights have and will, of course, continue to offend many in the trans community and beyond. He has been vocal about women sharing safe spaces with men who identify as women and is opposed to transgender athletes competing in women’s sports and the prescription of puberty blockers to children.
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In his letter to The Mail on Sunday, Linehan cites JK Rowling, who, like the comedy writer, has received letters of abuse and death threats for her views on trans issues.
“When Rowling came out, I thought, ‘Thank God, I’m now safe,'” he says, referring to her infamous tweet. “‘Everyone knows that her Left-wing credentials are impeccable. There’s no way they’ll call her a bigot’. But no.”
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In discussing Rowling, Linehan takes aim at some of her critics. In particular, the three main Harry Potter actors, Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson, who play Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley, and Hermione Granger, respectively, in all eight films.
“They actually are very good examples of three people who could have changed the conversation,” he says. “If they had stood firm behind JK Rowling, it would not have been as easy to semi-destroy her reputation the way they did. Not only did they not help, they seemed to get indecent pleasure — Emma Watson, especially — out of maligning her.”
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Linehan says that the actors “betrayed” Rowling:
“The young actors from the Harry Potter series of films instantly betrayed her. If I were a star who had never shown any ability to act past the pre-pubescent level that got me into the business, I’d be keeping my head down, not signing statements insinuating that my old mentor was a bigot.”
He then goes on to describe them “as symbols of the most remarkable arrogance, cowardice, and ingratitude”, while insisting that Rowling is not transphobic:
“Those actors — Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint — deserve to be remembered as symbols of the most remarkable arrogance, cowardice and ingratitude. But asking what Rowling actually said that was so terrible produces nothing. You’ve never seen a transphobic statement from JK Rowling because none exists.”
The “betrayal” Linehan is referring to are comments and statements made by Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson over the years.
Radcliffe and Watson each voiced their support for the trans community amidst controversy surrounding the author. Grint likened Rowling to an “auntie”, saying “I don’t necessarily agree with everything my auntie says, but she’s still my auntie.”
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Radcliffe also famously wrote an essay published by The Trevor Project, in which he talked at length about his full support for trans rights while expressing regret about how Rowling’s views have “tarnished” some fans’ love of the Harry Potter books.
Meanwhile, several Harry Potter actors have defended JK Rowling, including Ralph Fiennes (Tom Riddle/Lord Voldemort), Jason Isaacs (Lucius Malfoy), Evanna Lynch (Luna Lovegood), and Miriam Margoyles (Professor Sprout). However, it should be noted that this does not mean they share her views on trans rights.
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In his letter, Linehan continues to blast the Harry Potter trio, saying, “The extra effort it must have taken to do that to her [Rowling] when they could have just said nothing, or, God forbid, could have actually defended her, I just find it extraordinary. I just think there’s nothing lower than someone so disloyal as to throw the person who made your career under a bus because she said that single-sex spaces were important.”
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Rowling’s views may not have stopped her from churning out new books or serving as executive producer on the upcoming Harry Potter reboot, but they’ve certainly impacted her reputation and the Harry Potter franchise as a whole.
The open-world game Hogwarts Legacy (2023), released earlier this year, was boycotted for years before its release due to its affiliations with the author, while news of the reboot has led to more online discourse.
More recently, a Harry Potter panel at the MCM London Comic Con was canceled as a result of complaints from the LGBTQIA+.
For Linehan’s full letter to The Mail on Sunday, click here.
What do you think of Graham Linehan’s comments about Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!