Queer Black Mirror director just showed how easy it is to turn down Harry Potter
Ally Pankiw (Getty Images)
Queer director Ally Pankiw has shown just how simple it is to say no to working on Harry Potter.
Sharing a screenshot of a text exchange on Instagram, Pankiw, who directed Black Mirror episode “Joan Is Awful”, revealed how she responded when approached about the franchise.
“Harry Potter? Hard no?” the message reads. Her reply: “Absolutely f****** not! lol. (But thank you for asking).”
Pankiw made her reasoning clear in the caption: “It simply is this easy to say no to funding transphobia!”
She added that the approach had been for directing, not acting.
Her stance comes as HBO’s Harry Potter TV series continues to draw criticism over creator JK Rowling’s involvement and her long record of gender-related campaigning.
Several of the actors announced for the upcoming series have faced backlash online, with critics arguing that lending their names to the project suggests they support Rowling, who serves as an executive producer and stands to profit from it, or her views.
The cast have responded to that criticism in varying ways.
John Lithgow, who is set to play Dumbledore, admitted it had been a “hard decision” to join the Harry Potter reboot because of the controversy, and said he found Rowling’s views “ironic and somewhat inexplicable”.
Nick Frost, cast as Hagrid, told reporters that he and Rowling “don’t align in any way, shape or form” on the issue.
Bel Powley, who will play Petunia Dursley, said she “strongly disagree[s] with JK Rowling’s views on gender“, adding that “the trans community deserve safety and dignity and respect and total acceptance”.
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