Cynthia Nixon Condemns J.K. Rowling's Transgender Comments
Months after she doubled down on her transphobic comments, Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling continues to receive flak from different personalities. The most recent celebrity to call out the author is actress Cynthia Nixon.
People reports that the 54-year-old Sex and the City actress found Rowling’s transphobic comments to be “painful,” especially to her own trans son. This was because her son, Samuel, grew up with the Harry Potter books.
Nixon also expressed her disappointment that the author of books that championed those who are downtrodden and discriminated against would deny the existence of transgender people. Nixon also said that while Rowling may think she is standing for feminism, she is not actually doing so.
But rather than focus on Rowling’s transphobia, Nixon has instead chosen to highlight the remarks from Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe, according to Insider.
Nixon lauded Radcliffe’s admonition to queer and non-queer people who have grown up with the Harry Potter series to not let Rowling’s remarks take away from their enjoyment of the books and movies. Radcliffe said that the stories remain their own.
Rowling first came under fire for her transphobic comments back in June, when she objected to an article that used the term “people who menstruate” and then added several spellings of the word “women” seemingly as a joke.
The 55-year-old author made matters worse by defending her transphobic comments in a lengthy essay that she published on her website. In the essay, Rowling made several claims using “deeply flawed” sources, according to experts. The author also made claims without citing any source at all.
Some of the unsourced claims Rowling made in her essay include saying that the government of the United Kingdom has a “Gender Recognition Certificate” that recognizes a biologically born male is recognized as a “woman in the sight of the law” even without transitioning. She also claimed that gender-dysphoric teens grow out of their dysphoria.
Aside from Nixon and Radcliffe, a number of other celebrities have also spoken out about Rowling’s transphobic views. Eddie Redmayne, who stars in the Fantastic Beasts films, said that respecting transgender people is “a cultural imperative.” He also revealed that he has been educating himself on the experiences and lives of transgender people.
Jonathan Van Ness of the show Queer Eye said that trans women and trans women of color face discrimination regularly, while The Good Place actress Jameela Jamil challenged Rowling to donate to the GoFundMe of Black trans women in Atlanta.