Harry Potter actor Sean Biggerstaff has publicly condemned author JK Rowling, branding her an “obsessed billionaire” and “bigoted” over her views on transgender issues.
The Scottish actor, who portrayed Hogwarts Quidditch ace Oliver Wood in three films of the wizarding franchise, made the comments on social media following a recent UK Supreme Court ruling on the definition of “woman” in the Equality Act.
Biggerstaff’s criticism comes after Rowling celebrated the court’s decision that the term “woman” refers only to biological females.
The Supreme Court ruled last week that in the 2010 Equality Act, the definition of “women” relates only to biological women.
Justices in London determined that trans women with a gender recognition certificate can be excluded from single-sex spaces if “proportionate”.
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The case was brought by campaign group For Women Scotland, which Rowling is thought to have helped fund.
The ruling marked the culmination of a long-running legal battle over whether somebody with a gender recognition certificate should be protected from discrimination as a woman under the Equality Act.
Biggerstaff responded to Rowling’s controversial post celebrating the ruling, where she shared an image of herself smoking a cigar on her £113million superyacht.
When some mistook the cigar for “a blunt”, Rowling clarified it was “objectively, provably and demonstratively a cigar”.
The actor replied sharply: “Bigotry rots the wit.”
Bigotry rots the wit. https://t.co/PWZbVbXH85
— Sean Biggerstaff (@Seanchuckle) April 18, 2025
He also reposted a tweet comparing Rowling to controversial influencer Andrew Tate, which read: “lol, huffing on a cigar now? Is she Andrew Tate?”
At the same time, Biggerstaff also defended the Harry Potter film’s leading stars after they were criticised for speaking out against Rowling in the past.
Award winning writer of Father Ted Graham Linehan, who has long been outspoken on gender critical issues, shared an image of Potter film stars Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint after the ruling with the caption: “Wonder how these disloyal bags of s**t are doing today.”
All three stars have previously distanced themselves from Rowling’s views on transgender issues.
“You don’t have to wonder. You know what they’re doing – leading happy and successful lives, having not driven their families away with their hateful obsessions,” Biggerstaff shot back.
Despite his criticism of Rowling, Biggerstaff continues to engage with the Harry Potter franchise and its fanbase.
He frequently attends conventions and meet-and-greets with fans, appearing at a signing at the Gibert-Joseph bookstore in France as recently as February 2025.
The actor also attended another meet and greet in Italy in December 2024.
In August 2023, Biggerstaff appeared at the New England WizardFest & Magic Convention in Boxborough.
He starred in the first two Harry Potter films and returned for a brief, uncredited cameo in the Deathly Hallows: Part 2.
Rowling reacted to the ruling by posting on X: “It took three extraordinary, tenacious Scottish women with an army behind them to get this case heard by the Supreme Court.”
She added: “Trans people have lost zero rights today, although I don’t doubt some (not all) will be furious that the Supreme Court upheld women’s sex-based rights.”
The author previously indicated she would not forgive Radcliffe or Watson, criticising celebrities who “cosied up to a movement intent on eroding women’s hard-won rights”.
