The Harry Potter franchise was a sensation when J.K. Rowling's novels originally arrived, leading to a massive eight-movie film franchise. Said movies starred Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley, with the child actor quickly becoming a household name in the process. Grint has been keeping busy with more adult roles, and he also made headlines for speaking out against Rowling's controversial comments about transgender women. And now he's explained his feelings about the acclaimed author and collaborator in the wake of this development.
J.K. Rowling's controversy started back in 2019, but became national news after she wrote a scathing letter which many deemed to be transphobic. Many members of the Wizarding World spoke out against these comments, including Eddie Redmayne, Emma Watson, Daniel Radcliffe, and Rupert Grint. The latter actor opened up about his feelings toward Rowling and her controversy, saying:
I am hugely grateful [for] everything that she's done. I think that she's extremely talented, and I mean, clearly, her works are genius. But yeah, I think also you can have huge respect for someone and still disagree with things like that.
There you have it. It looks like while Rupert Grint knows he owes quite a bit to J.K. Rowling’s vision and talent, that doesn’t mean she’s perfect. And when it came to the author’s comments about transgender women, Grunt made this distinction clear.
Rupert Grint’s comments to Esquire shows what complicated feelings the 32 year-old actor has about Harry Potter scribe J.K. Rowling. His time playing Ron Weasley was a special one, with Grint living in the Wizarding World for ten years. But now he’s all grown up, and using his platform as he sees fit.
Later in his same interview, Rupert Grint went on to explain why he decided to take a stand in opposition to J.K. Rowling’s stance on the transgender folks. The Servant star might not be an expert when it comes to queer theory, but he seemingly understands how at-risk the transgender community on a whole. As he put it,
Sometimes silence is even louder. I felt like I had to because I think it was important to. I mean, I don't want to talk about all that… Generally, I'm not an authority on the subject. Just out of kindness, and just respecting people. I think it's a valuable group that I think needs standing up for.
While being careful about his language, Rupert Grint definitely was able to explain exactly what went into his mind when speaking out against J.K. Rowling. And although it might have felt funny given his Harry Potter connection, Grint wasn't the only one from the Wizarding World speaking out in support of the transgender community. Luckily he's not actually playing Ron Weasley anymore; Eddie Redmayne is currently working with Rowling on Fantastic Beasts 3. It's unclear how awkward things might be on set.
Rupert Grint is currently starring in Servant on Apple TV+. Be sure to check out our 2021 release list to plan your next movie experience.
