Danielle Radcliffe responds to JK Rowling's controversial tweets

Although artists and celebrities like Hozier, King Princess and Halsey have weighed in on JK Rowling's controversial tweets from this past weekend, much of the world has been left wondering where the cast of the Harry Potter film franchise stand on her comments. Rowling was initially upset by the phrase 'people who menstruate' in the headline of an article, and then doubled down on her initial comments once backlash began, writing:

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. It isn’t hate to speak the truth.

— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) June 6, 2020

Danielle Radcliffe – who has always been quiet on social media – released a statement this morning on the Trevor Project website to state unequivocally that "transgender women are real 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," the short essay continues.

Radcliffe encourages press and media outlets not to look at his statement as a "in-fighting" between Rowling and himself, but writes that he feels it necessary to speak out on the issue because of his work with The Trevor Project. The Trevor Project is an American organisation that provides crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning LGBTQ youth under the age of 25.

"To all the people who now feel that their experience of the books has been tarnished or diminished, I am deeply sorry for the pain these comments have caused you," he writes.

"I really hope that you don’t entirely lose what was valuable in these stories to you. If these books taught you that love is the strongest force in the universe, capable of overcoming anything; if they taught you that strength is found in diversity, and that dogmatic ideas of pureness lead to the oppression of vulnerable groups; if you believe that a particular character is trans, non-binary, or gender fluid, or that they are gay or bisexual; if you found anything in these stories that resonated with you and helped you at any time in your life — then that is between you and the book that you read, and it is sacred."