Daniel Radcliffe and Radcliffe and Rupert Grint in Harry Potter
Explained Daniel Radcliffe Harry Potter JK Rowling LGBTQ+

Where Daniel Radcliffe stands on JK Rowling as Rupert Grint returns to Harry Potter

He's made his stance crystal clear

Daisy Phillipson
27th August 2026, 11:49
Add as preferred source on Google
Add as preferred source on Google

Rupert Grint has now joined the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Broadway play, despite publicly distancing himself from JK Rowling’s views on trans rights. But where does the OG wizard Daniel Radcliffe stand on the issue?

Much of the conversation has been centred around HBO’s Harry Potter TV show, with Nicholas Hoult facing backlash for joining the cast of season two before dropping out due to “scheduling conflicts”. 

Kit Harington similarly came under fire as he’s now taking over the role from Hoult. But they’re far from the first actors to divide opinion due to the involvement of Rowling and her views on gender and trans rights. 

The author has continued to use her Harry Potter fortune to provide financial and legal support for individuals and groups challenging trans-inclusive spaces, policies and workplace guidelines. 

As the primary rights holder, she profits not only from the upcoming TV adaptation but from all Wizarding World projects, including the Cursed Child play.

Grint was one of the original actors who spoke out against Rowling’s views, saying in a statement in 2020, “I firmly stand with the trans community. Trans women are women. Trans men are men. We should all be entitled to live with love and without judgment.”

It’s what’s made his decision to reprise his role as Ron Weasley in the Cursed Child play all the more surprising. This has also led to renewed praise for Radcliffe, with multiple fans highlighting his continued support for the trans community.

“Daniel Radcliffe being the only one with a backbone and has actively supported trans people too,” wrote one X user, while another said, “Goddammit. We lost Rupert, Emma is on thin ice, so only Daniel Radcliffe out of the main trio remains true.”

Daniel Radcliffe has remained firm on his stance 

Daniel Radcliffe
Credit: Warner Bros.

Radcliffe responded to Rowling’s tweets on gender identity in 2020, when she poked fun at an article that referred to “people who menstruate” and continued to tweet further about her views on biological sex. 

In an essay for The Trevor Project, Radcliffe wrote that he felt compelled to speak out, saying the issue was bigger than just a disagreement between him and Rowling. 

“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,” he said. 

“According to The Trevor Project, 78% of transgender and nonbinary youth reported being the subject of discrimination due to their gender identity. It’s clear that we need to do more to support transgender and nonbinary people, not invalidate their identities, and not cause further harm.”

Radcliffe said he was working hard to become a better ally, and shared the Trevor Project’s Guide to Being an Ally to Transgender and Nonbinary Youth.

JK Rowling
Credit: X/JK Rowling

In 2024, he told The Atlantic that he hadn’t spoken with the author since the 2020 tweets. “It makes me really sad, ultimately, because I do look at the person that I met, the times that we met, and the books that she wrote, and the world that she created, and all of that is to me so deeply empathic,” he said. 

The actor went on to explain that, particularly in the British press, it felt as if there was almost an anticipation to write “Are these three kids ungrateful brats?”, referring to him, Grint, and Emma Watson. 

“So, good for them, I guess,” he said. “Jo, obviously Harry Potter would not have happened without her, so nothing in my life would have probably happened the way it is without that person. But that doesn’t mean that you owe the things you truly believe to someone else for your entire life.”

In response to Rowling referring to Radcliffe and Watson as “celebs who cosied up to a movement intent on eroding women’s hard-won rights,” Radcliffe simply said, “I will continue to support the rights of all LGBTQ people, and have no further comment than that.”

Not only is he an ally in his words but also in his financial support. In 2009, he made a large and generous donation to the Trevor Project helpline. More recently, he donated an item for auction to help fight LGBTQ+ book bans.

Ultimately, Radcliffe hasn’t wavered publicly from his position in the years since the Rowling controversy first unfolded, even as other members of the original Harry Potter cast have started returning to the Wizarding World.

For all the latest film and TV updates and hot takes, like our Facebook page.

Featured image credit: Stephen Lovekin/Shutterstock/X/JK Rowling