Nicholas Hoult casts unforced error spell on career, joins Harry Potter show

Hoult’s statement on Rowling will be in fine company. Yesterday, series star Bel Powley, who will play Aunt Petunia, told The Telegraph she “strongly disagree[s] with J.K. Rowling’s view on gender. I think the trans community deserves safety and dignity and respect and total acceptance.” Fellow star John Lithgow, meanwhile, is currently spending his eighth decade on Earth explaining why Rowling’s views were “twisted and misinterpreted,” though he does “disagree with much of it.” Nick Frost, who plays Hagrid on the show, also had to comment, saying, “She’s allowed her opinion and I’m allowed mine, they just don’t align in any way, shape or form.” Despite their protestations, Rowling stands to make an estimated $20 million a year from her involvement with the show, which she can funnel directly into the legal fund she started for “individuals and organisations fighting to retain women’s sex-based rights in the workplace.” 

Reacting to Rowling’s rhetoric has become a common speed bump for all Hogwarts-related interactions with the press. Hogwarts stars of yore, such as Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint, have also spoken out against the author who spent decades masquerading as the type of empathetic storyteller who named an Asian character Cho Chang.