Ralph Fiennes says backlash against JK Rowling over her transphobic tweets is 'disturbing'

Ralph Fiennes who was seen playing the role of Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter series, recently opened up about the backlash that JK Rowling has been receiving about her comments against transgender people. The actor said that he can understand that people are upset but he finds the negative comments against her disturbing. 

Ralph Fiennes finds backlash against JK Rowling disturbing

JK Rowling has been receiving major flak over the past year as she has made a series of controversial opinions about transgender people, which were deemed as transphobic and condemned by people on social media. Following this, in a recent interview with The Telegraph, actor Ralph Fiennes expressed his concern towards the hate she was getting and said that he found it disturbing. The actor stated that he doesn’t understand the massive criticism that has been directed towards the author. He added that although the heat towards Rowling is justified, he finds the accusing and condemning illogical, further mentioning that the level of hate that people express about someone who has views opposite to theirs is disturbing.

The criticism towards Rowling first started on June 6, 2020, after she shared a series of Tweets debating that the discussion of gender identity denies biological sex. She wrote in a tweet, “If sex isn’t real, there’s no same-sex attraction. If sex isn’t real, the lived reality of women globally is erased. I know and love trans people, but erasing the concept of sex removes the ability of many to meaningfully discuss their lives”.

Among many who weren’t okay with Rowling’s statements were Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and more. Radcliffe wrote in an open letter on The Trevor Project’s website, “Transgender women are women. Any statement to the contrary erases the identity and dignity of transgender people and goes against all advice given by professional health care associations who have far more expertise on this subject matter than either Jo or I. To all the people who now feel that their experience of the Harry Potter books has been tarnished or diminished, I am deeply sorry for the pain these comments have caused you. I really hope that you don’t entirely lose what was valuable in these stories to you…”