'She is entitled to her viewpoint': Brian Cox defends JK Rowling's remarks on transgender community
LONDON, UK: 'Harry Potter' author JK Rowling, who has been constantly under fire for her controversial views on the transgender community, has received suppsort from veteran actor Brian Cox. The actor, best known as the ruthless media boss in HBO's 'Succession', made his thoughts known on a BBC broadcast on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg. Cox, 76, claimed that Rowling has been unfairly criticized and stressed that she is "entitled to her viewpoint." The author faced backlash after liking a tweet in 2018 that referred to transgender individuals as "men in dresses."
"I don't like the way she's been treated, actually. I think she's entitled to her opinion, she's entitled to say what she feels," Brian Cox said. He then cited Rowling's gender to defend her remarks. "As a woman, she's very much entitled to say what she feels about her own body. There's nobody better to say that, as a woman. So, I do feel that people have been a bit high and mighty about their own attitude toward JK Rowling, quite frankly," Brian Cox added.
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The Scottish actor also voiced his support for the just-passed Gender Recognition Reform bill in Scotland, which enables trans people to receive a gender recognition certificate (GRC) devoid of a medical diagnosis.
The actors who portrayed Rowling's Hermione Granger and Harry Potter in the film adaptations, Emma Watson and Daniel Radcliffe, have previously criticized the author's remarks. Sebastian Croft, who starred in Heartstopper, addressed the criticism last week on his future appearance in the Harry Potter video game 'Hogwarts Legacy'. The 21-year-old actor, who has frequently supported the LGBTQ+ community, claimed in a Saturday tweet that he agreed to the film "long before he was aware of Rowling's views."
An action role-playing game, 'Hogwarts Legacy' unfolds 100 years before JK Rowling's Harry Potter books. It was announced this week that Croft would provide the game's playable character's voice before its February release, causing anger and controversy.
Croft wrote on Twitter in response, "I was cast in this project over 3 years ago, back when all Harry Potter was to me, was the magical world I grew up with. This was long before I was aware of JK Rowling's views. I believe wholeheartedly that trans women are women and trans men are men."
I was cast in this project over 3 years ago, back when all Harry Potter was to me, was the magical world I grew up with. This was long before I was aware of JK Rowling’s views.
— Sebastian Croft (@SebastianCroft) January 14, 2023
I believe whole heartedly that trans women are women and trans men are men. https://t.co/QTAMClZDda
"I know far more now than I did 3 years ago, and hope to learn far more in the next 3. I'm really sorry to anyone hurt by this announcement. There is no LGB without the T," he added.
After the outcry following the "men in dresses" fiasco in March 2018, on June 6, 2020, Rowling sent out a tweet in response to a headline that made reference to "people who menstruate," which drew more criticism as it was interpreted as an attack on the trans community.
Rowling responded with an essay posted online on June 10, 2020, claiming that her interest in trans issues stemmed from her experiences as a victim of abuse and her worries about single-sex environments. "I've been in the public eye now for over twenty years and have never talked publicly about being a domestic abuse and sexual assault survivor," Rowling wrote. "This isn't because I'm ashamed those things happened to me, but because they're traumatic to revisit and remember."