Looks like JK Rowling is feeling vindicated following the publication of the Cass Review into gender identity services in the UK, and has made it clear that if Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson were to now come begging for her forgiveness, they should ‘save their apologies’.
When JK Rowling initially Tweeted that it was important to maintain the distinction between women and trans women so as to protect/not invalidate experiences unique to biological women (for medical reasons and otherwise), Emma Watson and Daniel Radcliffe publicly disagreed:
I want my trans followers to know that I and so many other people around the world see you, respect you and love you for who you are.
— Emma Watson (@EmmaWatson) June 10, 2020
Which might’ve had more to do with them distancing themselves from JK Rowling and any looming PR nightmare by association, as opposed to actually being invested in the topic themselves.
The Cass Review, which was published and shared with the NHS this week, found that under 18’s who were autistic, gay, or came from abusive backgrounds, were overrepresented at gender identity clinics, and that these factors were overlooked or improperly investigated by professionals. It found that treatment was “hurried”, and that children had been ‘let down’ thus far by a failure to base gender care on evidence-based research.
JK Rowling praised the findings of the report commissioned by NHS England in 2020, and which took four years to complete. When someone suggested that Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson owed Rowling an apology, the Harry Potter author shut it down:
Not safe, I’m afraid. Celebs who cosied up to a movement intent on eroding women’s hard-won rights and who used their platforms to cheer on the transitioning of minors can save their apologies for traumatised detransitioners and vulnerable women reliant on single sex spaces.
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) April 10, 2024
To be fair, I’m pretty sure Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson weren’t planning on apologising or asking for forgiveness, and probably want to stay as far away from the topic as possible (especially now). But just in case they were planning to apologise, JK Rowling has now ensured they won’t bother. I guess she feels like they really threw her under the bus by so promptly and publicly coming out to disagree with her when this whole drama kicked off initially in 2020.
Of course, Emma Watson and Daniel Radcliffe are entitled to their views, as is everybody, but it might’ve been cool of them to also condemn some of the shocking abuse and messages being sent JK Rowling’s way over her course of this saga. I mean, where would they even be without her?
The debate continues, I’m sure…
For the time JK Rowling annihilated a Harry Potter fan who asked why Dumbledore is gay, click HERE.
