Evanna Lynch has shut down rumours the cast of Harry Potter have “cold shouldered” JK Rowling, after her controversial comments about gender identity.
The author of the Harry Potter books came under fire in 2020 for making “anti-trans” comments, after she took issue with the phrase “people who menstruate” in an article written for Devex.
Sharing the article on her Twitter feed, she wrote: “‘People who menstruate.’ I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?”
‘People who menstruate.’ I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?
Opinion: Creating a more equal post-COVID-19 world for people who menstruate https://t.co/cVpZxG7gaA
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) June 6, 2020
Harry Potter stars Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Katie Leung, and Evanna all spoke out in defense of the transgender community after JK’s comments, but Evanna denies there is a “rift” between her co-stars and the author.
During her appearance on GBNews’ Breakfast show, Eamonn Holmes suggested some cast members had given JK “the cold shoulder over her social views”.
The Irish actress replied: “I wouldn’t say it was the cold shoulder. I think people, there are things we maybe don’t all agree with and don’t understand, I’ve talked to all the cast, they all have great love and respect for her even if they don’t agree with her beliefs.”
“I really strongly disagree with the media narrative that there is a rift. She has her beliefs and she’s doing her thing. We all have strong beliefs and it’s been a very difficult conversation. I want there to be healing, I don’t want us to keep fighting.”
Evanna, who played Luna Lovegood in the Harry Potter films, also denied claims JK was “snubbed” from the Return To Hogwarts reunion special.
The author only featured in the HBO Max special in archive video clips.
Evanna said: “I think she’s busy writing books, I don’t think that was about the conversations that have been had about more controversial issues.”
“I think she was busy and she was never on the sets very often. She’s still a big part of it.”
After facing serious backlash on social media for her controversial comments, JK posted a lengthy essay on her website, under the headline: “J.K. Rowling Writes about Her Reasons for Speaking out on Sex and Gender Issues.”
Referring to the controversial tweet she posted, she wrote: “Late on Saturday evening, scrolling through children’s pictures before I went to bed, I forgot the first rule of Twitter – never, ever expect a nuanced conversation – and reacted to what I felt was degrading language about women.”
“I spoke up about the importance of sex and have been paying the price ever since. I was transphobic, I was a c***t, a b***h, a TERF, I deserved cancelling, punching and death. You are Voldemort said one person, clearly feeling this was the only language I’d understand.”
“Huge numbers of women are justifiably terrified by the trans activists; I know this because so many have got in touch with me to tell their stories. They’re afraid of doxxing, of losing their jobs or their livelihoods, and of violence.”
“But endlessly unpleasant as its constant targeting of me has been, I refuse to bow down to a movement that I believe is doing demonstrable harm in seeking to erode ‘woman’ as a political and biological class and offering cover to predators like few before it.”
“I stand alongside the brave women and men, gay, straight and trans, who’re standing up for freedom of speech and thought, and for the rights and safety of some of the most vulnerable in our society: young gay kids, fragile teenagers, and women who’re reliant on and wish to retain their single sex spaces,” she continued.
“Polls show those women are in the vast majority, and exclude only those privileged or lucky enough never to have come up against male violence or sexual assault, and who’ve never troubled to educate themselves on how prevalent it is.”
