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Credit: Inside the MagicA huge Harry Potter event was cancelled recently – and the blame is being pinned on the “transphobic” views of its author, JK Rowling.
Rowling may have become a household name after penning “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” in 1998, but today she typically makes headlines for a different, less magical reason. Since 2018, the author has repeatedly shared her thoughts on the transgender community, making controversial claims such as trans activism “seeking to erode ‘woman’ as a political and biological class” and equating trans women to rapists and trans people in general to Death Eaters.
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In the wake of her comments, several actors from the franchise – including Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint – have sought to distance themselves from Rowling. Her opinions have also forced both Warner Bros. Entertainment and Universal Studios Parks & Resorts to pledge their support to the LGBTQ+ community.
Now, they’ve led to the cancellation of a major planned Harry Potter event. As reported by The Spinoff, Auckland Museum in New Zealand decided to pull out of hosting the traveling exhibition “Fantastic Beasts: The Wonder of Nature” – inspired by the seemingly-canceled spinoff series of the same name – earlier this year in the wake of Rowling’s comments.
The decision was made after Rowling pledged her support to Posie Parker (Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull). The anti-transgender rights activist and founder of the group Standing for Women triggered mass protests upon her arrival for speaking engagements in New Zealand in March 2023. Rowling tweeted on X (then known as Twitter) that she found the protests “repellent” and described those involved as a “mob.”
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This reportedly encouraged Auckland Museum to rethink their decision to host an exhibition inspired by Rowling’s work. “I really think we’re going to get panned by anyone under 30,” The Spinoff claims one employee said on the museum’s internal messaging platform Teams at the time.
“The sentiment against JK Rowling seems to be growing more and more as she continues to be unapologetically transphobic,” wrote another.
While multiple employees raised concerns about hosting the exhibition, some argued that those less active online are unaware of the controversy around Rowling. “Before you guys raised this, I had never heard about it,” one employee wrote. “In my world, my friends and family aren’t talking about it. I think I’ve got a fairly broad cross section of people in my world, both demographically and geographically. I have members of the rainbow community too.”
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As employees continued to express doubts, the conversation was later raised to Auckland Museum’s CEO who suggested that they take a step back. Despite some questioning whether the museum would be accused of being too “woke” or “giving in to cancel culture,” in July 2023 the museum issued an email to staff confirming that it would not go ahead with the exhibition and instead replace it with one that “more closely aligns with our values.”
In August, the Museum of Pop Culture in Seattle decided to remove references to Rowling in its displays for similar reasons. However, other venues across the world have continued to support Rowling’s work despite the ongoing controversy. Not only will Epic Universe feature a third Wizarding World of Harry Potter land when it opens in 2025, but Texas is currently home to a pop-up event inspired by the Forbidden Forest. Tokyo also recently became home to the “world’s biggest indoor Harry Potter theme park” with the opening of Warner Bros. Studio Tour Japan.
Inside the Magic reached out to Auckland Museum for comment, but has not heard back by the time of publishing.
Do you think brands and businesses should distance themselves from Harry Potter due to Rowling’s views? Let us know in the comments!