Actor John Lithgow is set to take on one of the most iconic roles in JK Rowling's Harry Potter franchise, and the response to the announcement has left him flummoxed.
Lithgow told the UK's Sunday Times that Rowling's virulent transphobia and anti-LGBTQ+ activism has led to backlash over him appearing in the HBO TV reboot of the book series.
He told the Times that some of his fans, as well as a close personal friend, urged him to drop out of playing Albus Dumbledore because of Rowling's stance, especially in the wake of the U.K. Supreme Court case she helped fund which bars trans people from single-sex facilities and services like locker rooms.
It shouldn't need to be explained that forcing a trans person to use the opposite sex's locker room at the gym endangers the well being of everyone involved—people don't tend to take kindly to men showing up in a women's locker room or vice versa, of course.
But then, one wonders if that kind of vitriol and violence was the point all along, given that JK Rowling openly celebrated the ruling with cigars and champagne in an X post in which she admitted that she had "planned" the whole thing.
And that is just scratching the surface of the kind of virulent animus Rowling has shown toward trans people over the years.
But none of that computes to Lithgow, it seems, even after "a very good friend who is the mother of a trans child" reached out to explain the controversy to him, sharing a viral op-ed titled "An Open Letter to John Lithgow: Please Walk Away From Harry Potter."
Lithgow told the Times he's been shocked by the rage just the mention of Rowling's name inspires:
“I thought, 'Why is this a factor at all?' I wonder how J.K. Rowling has absorbed it. I suppose at a certain point I’ll meet her, and I’m curious to talk to her."
Lithgow maintains that the outrage hasn't soured the role for him, which he envisions potentially being his last before retiring.
He also compared the response to Rowling with the response to his current role in a West End theater production playing writer Roald Dahl at a time when Dahl came under fire for his antisemitism.
He told the Times:
"No one complained when I agreed to play Dahl, but I've received so many messages about JK Rowling. Isn't that odd?"
Not really, Mr. Lithgow! One author died 35 years ago and the play you're in is about criticizing them, while the other is currently helping to endanger people's lives in the present-day and you're starring in a project that will make them millions. Pretty simple distinction to make!
On social media, Lithgow's comments left many people furious.
Lithgow's choice and attitude are particularly confusing given that one of his most iconic roles was Roberta, a trans woman in the film The World According to Garp all the way back in 1982, considered by many to be a watershed moment in the fight for the acceptance of trans people. That was then and this is now, it seems. Oh well.
@chrissy64/Bluesky
@gerstkitty/Bluesky
@katvanzan/Bluesky
@ghenguskahn/X
@theshawnstuckey.com/Bluesky
@starlightwishes/Bluesky
