The 'Harry Potter' reunion special doesn't address J.K. Rowling's history of transphobic remarks
Advertisement
Palmer Haasch
Dec 31, 2021, 19:32 IST
J. K. Rowling attends HBO's "Finding The Way Home" world premiere on December 11, 2019.Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images
The "Harry Potter" 20th Anniversary special "Return to Hogwarts" premieres on January 1 on HBO Max.
J.K. Rowling appears in clips from a 2019 interview, but not in any new footage from the special.
Advertisement
HBO Max's "Harry Potter" 20th anniversary reunion special, "Return to Hogwarts," includes clips from a previous interview with series author J.K. Rowling, but doesn't address any of the criticism that her remarks over the past several years regarding transgender people are transphobic.
The special, which premieres on HBO Max on January 1, brings together the cast and creatives from the eight "Harry Potter" films, including actors Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter), Emma Watson (Hermione Granger), Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley), and directors Chris Columbus, Alfonso Cuarón, Mike Newell, and David Yates.
The reunion special focuses heavily on the films themselves and their legacy, mostly skirting the books and the author that penned them.
Rowling appeared sparingly in the special, through clips from an archived 2019 Warner Bros. Studio Tour London interview, commenting predominately on the beginning of the film series. Rowling was invited to participate in an interview for the special but the team behind it felt that the prior footage was sufficient, Entertainment Weekly reported, citing anonymous sources.
The special, however, does not grapple with Rowling's comments over the past years pertaining to transgender people — particularly transgender women — that have prompted backlash and accusations of transphobia.
Advertisement
Rowling, since 2018, has been criticized for espousing transphobic viewpoints on social media, such as implying that women are the only people who menstruate and appearing to say that trans people are erasing the concept of sex.
NewsletterSIMPLY PUT - where we join the dots to inform and inspire you. Sign up for a weekly brief collating many news items into one untangled thought delivered straight to your mailbox.