Potterverse Actor Harry Melling Counters J.K. Rowling's Transphobia
Harry Melling, who played Harry Potter’s cousin Dudley Dursley in the films based on J.K. Rowling’s books, has joined the chorus of Potterverse actors countering Rowling’s transphobic views.Melling was asked about the issue in a recent interview with The Independent. “I can only speak for myself, and what I feel, to me, is very simple,” he said, “which is that transgender women are women and transgender men are men.
Every single person has the right to choose who they are and to identify themselves as what’s true to themselves. I don’t want to join the debate of pointing fingers and saying, ‘That’s right, that’s wrong,’ because I don’t think I’m the correct spokesperson for that.
But I do believe that everybody has the right to choose.”Rowling has been under fire for transphobia for several years. In December 2019, in support of a woman who had lost her job for expressing anti-trans opinions, Rowling tweeted, “Dress however you please.
Call yourself whatever you like. Sleep with any consenting adult who’ll have you. Live your best life in peace and security.
