Chris Columbus, director of the first two Harry Potter films, said in an interview that a reunion of the original cast is unlikely to ever happen, citing J.K. Rowling’s controversial views on transgender issues as the reason.
Columbus called the situation “so complicated with all the political stuff,” noting that Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson have publicly distanced themselves from Rowling, making any reunion improbable.
Rowling responded with a lengthy post on X, directly addressing her critics and laying out her positions on gender and women’s rights.
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“As another man who once worked with me declares himself saddened by my beliefs on gender and sex, I thought it might be useful to compile a list for handy reference,” Rowling wrote.
She posed a series of questions about which of her views could have provoked such backlash. Rowling asked whether critics objected to her belief “that women and girls should have their own public changing rooms and bathrooms,” or her stance that “women should retain female-only rape crisis centres” and “that men don’t belong in women’s sport.”
She also emphasized the issue of incarcerated women, writing that “female prisoners shouldn’t be incarcerated with violent men and male sex offenders,” and argued that women “should remain a protected class in law, because they have sex-specific needs and issues.”
Rowling addressed the importance of language, saying “language should reflect reality rather than ideological jargon, especially in a medical context.”
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She added that “women shouldn’t be harassed, persecuted or fired for refusing to pretend humans can change sex” and “women should not be threatened with violence and rape when they assert their rights.”
Turning to the subject of free expression, Rowling wrote that “freedom of speech and belief are essential to a pluralistic democratic society.”
She also expressed concern for vulnerable minors, particularly those who are “gay, autistic and trauma-experienced,” saying they “should be given mental health support instead of irreversible surgeries and drug treatments on non-existent evidence of benefit.”
Rowling went on to address LGBTQ issues, stating that “gay people shouldn’t be pressured to include the opposite sex in their dating pools, nor should they be smeared as ‘genital fetishists’ when they don’t.”
She also criticized “cross-dressing heterosexual male fetishists” who, in her view, exploit gender identity ideology.
Finally, Rowling argued that the promotion of gender ideology has had significant political consequences.
She wrote that the ideology, “and the privileged, blinkered fools pushing it because they suffer zero consequences themselves, have done more damage to the political left’s credibility than Trump and Farage could have achieved in a century.”
As another man who once worked with me declares himself saddened by my beliefs on gender and sex, I thought it might be useful to compile a list for handy reference. Which of the following do you imagine makes actors and directors who aren’t involved with the HBO reboot of Harry…
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) September 1, 2025
The comments from both Columbus and Rowling come amid ongoing debates in the entertainment industry over Rowling’s views.
While many actors associated with the Harry Potter franchise have publicly opposed her positions, Rowling has continued to defend her beliefs, framing them as rooted in women’s rights, child protection, and free expression.
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