Current:Home > MarketsJ.K. Rowling feuds with 'Potter' star David Tennant, calls him member of ‘gender Taliban’ -AssetTrainer
J.K. Rowling feuds with 'Potter' star David Tennant, calls him member of ‘gender Taliban’
View
Date:2025-04-11 14:39:51
J.K. Rowling is beefing with another "Harry Potter" star.
The "Harry Potter" franchise author is calling out "Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire" star and "Doctor Who" alum David Tennant, one of Britain's most outspoken trans advocates. Tennant is dad to a transgender son.
He called out anti-LGBTQ+ activists in his speech at The British LGBT Awards, including conservative British politician Kemi Badenoch, one of the most anti-trans leaders in the country, who he said should "shut up." He added that Pride is about "common sense" and "human decency."
But that didn't sit right with the outspoken bestselling author.
"But the utterances of the Gender Taliban receive special dispensation, for they are a holy caste," Rowling posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.
J.K. Rowling says 'Harry Potter' starswho've criticized her anti-trans views 'can save their apologies'
She continued in a separate X post: "This man is talking about rape survivors who want female-only care, the nurses currently suing their health trust for making them change in front of a man, girls and women losing sporting opportunities to males and female prisoners incarcerated with convicted sex offenders."
USA TODAY has reached out to reps for Tennant for comment.
In late April, "Harry Potter" star Daniel Radcliffe opened up to The Atlantic in an interview about Rowling's anti-trans views and his own work for LGBTQ+ rights, including with LGBTQ+ youth advocacy organization The Trevor Project.
"It would have seemed like, I don't know, immense cowardice to me to not say something," Radcliffe told the outlet. "I wanted to try and help people that had been negatively affected by the comments and to say that if those are Jo's views, then they are not the views of everybody associated with the 'Potter' franchise."
Rowling previously responded to a fan's post on X about feeling "safe in the knowledge" that she would forgive "Harry Potter" stars such as Radcliffe and Emma Watson, who have denounced the author's anti-trans rhetoric. Rowling wrote, "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," her post continued.
Contributing: Naledi Ushe
veryGood! (97786)
Related
- Pressure on a veteran and senator shows what’s next for those who oppose Trump
- In 'The Killer,' there's a method to his badness
- Discrimination charge filed against Michigan salon after owner’s comments on gender identity
- Watch Kourtney Kardashian Grill Tristan Thompson Over His Cheating Scandals
- Tree trimmer dead after getting caught in wood chipper at Florida town hall
- Illegal border crossings into the US drop in October after a 3-month streak of increases
- From F1's shoey bar to a wedding chapel: Best Las Vegas Grand Prix weekend experiences
- South Carolina education board deciding whether to limit books and other ‘age appropriate’ materials
- In ‘Nickel Boys,’ striving for a new way to see
- 20 women are now suing Texas, saying state abortion laws endangered them
Ranking
- 2 killed, 3 injured in shooting at makeshift club in Houston
- Video shows North Carolina officer repeatedly striking a pinned woman during her arrest
- German union calls on train drivers to strike this week in a rancorous pay dispute
- Finland considers closing border crossings with Russia to stem an increase in asylum-seekers
- John Galliano out at Maison Margiela, capping year of fashion designer musical chairs
- 13-year-old Texas boy sentenced to prison for murder in fatal shooting at a Sonic Drive-In
- “Shocked” Travis Kelce Reacts to Taylor Swift’s Concert Shoutout
- At the UN’s top court, Venezuela vows to press ahead with referendum on future of disputed region
Recommendation
'Squid Game' without subtitles? Duolingo, Netflix encourage fans to learn Korean
Taiwan’s opposition parties team up for January election
Dolly Parton’s new album is a detour from country music — could R&B be next?
Iraq’s top court rules to oust the speaker and a rival lawmaker from Parliament
Kylie Jenner Shows Off Sweet Notes From Nieces Dream Kardashian & Chicago West
'Low-down dirty shame': Officials exhume Mississippi man killed by police, family not allowed to see
Environmental Justice a Key Theme Throughout Biden’s National Climate Assessment
Israeli forces raid Gaza’s largest hospital, where hundreds of patients are stranded by fighting