Actor Ralph Fiennes defends JK Rowling's stance on trans people; says the verbal abuse is disgusting

Following actor Ralph Fiennes's recent support of author JK Rowling, it truly seems befitting that the Dark Lord himself comes out in support of his creator, whose comments on trans people was considered by many as transphobic.

In an interview with the New York Times, Fiennes stood firmly by Rowling’s side, condemning the hatred that her comments on trans people has provoked.

Despite transphobia and trans-exclusionary policies being at the forefront of right-wing discourse and policies, Fiennes says: “I mean, I can understand a viewpoint that might be angry at what she says about women. But it’s not some obscene, uber-right-wing fascist.”

He furthers his point by declaring how he “understands” where she’s coming from as a woman, though he isn’t a woman himself. The irony of this actually trans-enabling statement however seems to be lost on Fiennes,

“It’s just a woman saying, ‘I’m a woman and I feel I’m a woman and I want to be able to say that I’m a woman.’ And I understand where she’s coming from. Even though I’m not a woman.”

Amid a slew of colourful controversies Rowling has managed to find herself in, including going on record criticising a bill that would make it easier for trans people in Scotland to change genders, her latest tryst with her identity as a Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminist (TERF) manifests itself in her latest novel.

Penned under her pseudonym Robert Galbraith (a real American conversion therapist), The Ink Black Heart follows a YouTube animator who gets stabbed to death for making racist, transphobic and ableist animations. Hmmm, wonder what the inspiration was behind that one.

Rowling has previously detailed her exceedingly controversial takes on gender identity in a 3,600 word essay published in 2020 where she recounts her struggles with sexism and misogyny and her accounts of surviving domestic abuse and sexual assault.

According to the author, her readings of gender dysphoria presented her with what she describes as “the allure of escaping womanhood” through the process of transition. 

She has maintained her belief that though trans people require protection against the excessive domestic and sexual violence they face, the idea of them pervading the sanctity of single-sex spaces is unacceptable. 

Rowling’s comments have prompted heated debates amongst the Harry Potter cast members on more than one occasion. 

Daniel Radcliffe, who has championed LGBTQ+ rights way before marriage legalisation in the US spoke in a statement against Rowling’s comments saying,

Emma Watson also took to Twitter in a series of tweets saying,

Following the backlash, Rowling stood by her comments, saying,

What seems to come across as most frustrating is how Rowling’s support of the TERF movement has somehow switched the narrative away from trans rights altogether and more towards the backlash Rowling has had to ‘endure’ because of it.

In his since deleted Twitter handle, talk-show host Graham Norton made the most pertinent arguments, criticising Rowling's anti-trans stance saying,

Though Norton was instantly devoured by Rowling and her supporters for what she believes was “supporting rape and death threats”, he inadvertently sheds light on how Rowling’s rhetoric has only found solace through cisgender or heterosexual celebrities rather than giving trans people a platform to speak for themselves or be involved in the conversation.

And the recent pat on the back she has received from Fiennes, bears testimony to the same.