With the recent announcement from HBO Max — which will soon be known only as “Max” (which sounds like some random guy) — that they will be producing a brand new Harry Potter series based on the books, some fans are calling out Daniel Radcliffe himself, who famously played the lightning-scarred lead role in eight feature films.
Why such madness? Well, it’s a bit complicated, but here’s the lowdown on this Twitter throwdown.
Radcliffe, well-known for his support of the trans community, came under fire recently for a comment he made earlier this week which, if you believe Twitter, was the equivalent of suggesting that children do not need their parents to decide whether they should seek gender affirmation surgery. The fracas actually results from two separate comments that Radcliffe made, neither of which advocated for gender-related surgeries for children regardless of their what their parents say, and was part of a discussion he was having with trans people.
He initially stated, while in the midst of that discussion, “There are also people who also have a slightly condescending but well-meaning attitude of ‘people are young….and it’s a huge decision.’”
Radcliffe’s understanding in his response magically goes unnoticed by many who have decided to wave a wand against him.
He then later responded to another trans person by saying, “There are some people in the world who are not trying to engage in this conversation in any kind of good faith. I think a lot of the time it’s just because people don’t know a young trans person so there’s just this theoretical idea about this in their head.”
Radcliffe comes off as significantly more thoughtful than some of his detractors.
And yet, a lot of Twitter peeps took shots at Radcliffe, though thankfully not in the way that Kid Rock took shots at Bud Light for having a trans person promote their brew. “Weird Al” Rad is thus now the most recent subject of the bird app’s wrath.
Some are also pointing out that J.K Rowling might be motivated to do this new show — yes, she’s involved in the forthcoming project — because the child stars that she technically helped make famous all spoke out against her anti-trans ramblings, and seem uninterested in reprising any Rowling-related roles that they once so perfectly played.
Regardless what people might think about Rowling’s ravings, even those who agree with her intended points have admitted that she can be quite the condescending tweeter. Just read her replies; usually there is a J.K.R. fan or two who even says as much. Funny how, despite Rowling being a best-selling author, Radcliffe’s eloquence easily rivals that of Rowling’s rants.
Oh, but the all powerful Twittersphere has spoken!
Not everyone fell for the obscuring spell that Twitter seems to have put on Radcliffe.
Here are some who have defended him.
And some pointed out the new series might stem in part from Rowling not liking Radcliffe too much, or vice versa.
Additionally, if the controversy over the video game Hogwarts Legacy is any indication, then there will likely be many people attempting to boycott the upcoming Harry Potter series, due to Rowling’s stance against the trans community.
Hopefully, whomever is cast in the forthcoming Max series can overcome the inevitable controversy.