Sir Stephen Fry has publicly criticised JK Rowling for the first time, claiming the Harry Potter author has been “radicalised” and is now a “lost cause” over her views on transgender rights.
The 67-year-old comedian and broadcaster, who narrated all seven Harry Potter audiobooks, said he “disagrees profoundly” with Rowling’s stance on transgender issues.
“She has been radicalised I fear and it may be she has been radicalised by terfs, but also by the vitriol that is thrown at her,” Fry told host Andrew Keates while speaking on The Show People podcast.
“It is unhelpful and only hardens her and will only continue to harden her I am afraid.”
He added: “She seems to be a lost cause for us.” Fry expressed anger at Rowling’s recent comments, stating he was “happy to go on the record” about his feelings.
“I am not saying that she should not be called out when she says things that are really cruel, wrong and mocking,” he said during the podcast.
The former QI host criticised Rowling for not disavowing “some of the more revolting and truly horrible, destructive violently destructive things that people say”.
He also accused her of making “inflammatory and contemptuous, mocking” statements that “add to a terribly distressing time for trans people.”
Fry revealed his disappointment, saying he was “sorry because I always liked her company” and had found her “charming, funny, and interesting.”
He emphasised that “trans people are here and that they are hurting” and are “being abominably treated.”
Rowling has become a prominent figure in the transgender debate, with the term TERF – meaning “transgender-exclusionary radical feminists” – often used as a slur to describe her position.
In April, Rowling celebrated the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling that transgender women are not legally women, posting a photograph of herself with a cigarillo and drink on her yacht in the Caribbean Sea.
The ruling, delivered by Lord Hodge, determined that the term “woman” in the Equality Act 2010 should be defined according to biological sex assigned at birth.
This decision means transgender people can now be blocked from accessing designated single-sex spaces.
The actor, who previously attempted to remain neutral in 2022, explained his shift in position: “She started to make these peculiar statements and had very strong, difficult views.
“She seemed to wake up or kick a hornet’s nest of transphobia, which has been entirely destructive.”
Fry joins several Harry Potter stars who have publicly disagreed with Rowling’s stance.
Daniel Radcliffe stated in 2020: “Transgender women are women. Any statement to the contrary erases the identity and dignity of transgender people and goes against all advice given by professional health care associations who have far more expertise on this subject matter than either Jo or I.”
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Emma Watson also responded to Rowling’s comments that year, posting: “Trans people are who they say they are and deserve to live their lives without being constantly questioned or told they aren’t who they say they are.”
Tom Felton recently took a contrasting approach when asked about the controversy, saying: “I can’t say it does, I’m not really that attuned to it.”
He added: “I have not seen anything bring the world together more than Potter. She’s responsible for that, so I’m incredibly grateful.”
