Harry Potter star Katherine Parkinson refuses to ‘add to debate’ about JK Rowling’s trans views

Katherine Parkinson, who will star in HBO’s new Harry Potter TV reboot, has refused to be drawn into the “debate” about JK Rowling’s views on trans people.

Last month it was announced that Parkinson would star in the new Harry Potter series as Ron Weasley’s sharp-tongued mother, Molly Weasley.

Many fans of the actress voiced their disappointment at her involvement, due to Harry Potter author JK Rowling being the show’s executive producer.

Rowling frequently expresses her ‘gender-critical’ views on the trans community online, and has been widely criticised by celebrities including Pedro Pascal, Stephen Fry, and Margaret Atwood for the tone of her comments.

However, Parkinson doesn’t wish to add her name to the list of those who have denounced Rowling’s views about trans people.

“I don’t want to add to that debate at all,” Parkinson recently told Radio Times when questioned on whether Rowling’s views gave her pause before she joined Harry Potter.

“I’m just delighted to be joining the magical world of Harry Potter,” she added.

For some members of the trans and wider LGBTQ+ community, Parkinson has already “added to that debate” by taking the role.

Earlier this year, Rowling announced that she had launched JK Rowling Women’s Fund, an organisation set up by the author to support individuals, organisations or groups who are “fighting to retain women’s sex-based rights”, including in workplaces and “protected female spaces”.

Rowling will fund the organisation with her own money, likely via profit raised through projects such as Harry Potter.

Back in April, Rowling celebrated a decision by the UK’s Supreme Court which ruled that the terms “sex” and “woman” in the Equality Act 2010 refers to “biological sex” and “biological woman”, thus excluding trans women.

In its response, the UK’s equality watchdog, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), issued interim guidance which stated that transgender men and women should be banned from single-sex facilities – plus, in certain circumstances, facilities that match their “biological sex”.

Parkinson rose to fame as a star of The IT Crowd, written by Graham Linehan, who has also become a vocal opponent of the trans rights in recent years.

Other stars of the Harry Potter TV series have offered fuller responses to the controversy surrounding Rowling’s views.

Nick Frost, who will star as Hagrid, recently said Rowling is “allowed her opinion” but said her thoughts on the trans community “don’t align in any way, shape or form” with his.

John Lithgow, who will play Dumbledore in the series, said Rowling’s views weren’t a factor in his decision to join the show.

“I thought, why is this a factor at all? I wonder how JK Rowling has absorbed it. I suppose at a certain point I’ll meet her and I’m curious to talk to her,” he told The Times.

Following the UK Supreme Court’s ruling, Paapa Essiedu, who will play Professor Severus Snape, signed an open letter pledging solidarity with the trans community.

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