The filming years

The main cast members shared fond moments with Rowling at the film premieres

Rowling was pictured alongside Radcliffe, Watson and Grint at the premieres for each of the eight Harry Potter films. At the premiere of the final movie, the main trio delivered emotional speeches, expressing their gratitude to Rowling and their appreciation for being a part of the Harry Potter universe.

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Watson presented Rowling with the Pride of Britain Award

In 2007, Rowling won a special recognition at the Pride of Britain Awards – and it was presented by none other than Watson. Both Watson and Rowling were seen shedding tears of joy onstage. Watson emphasised that the Harry Potter series author truly deserved the award too.

Rowling helped Luna Lovegood’s actress, Evanna Lynch, through tough times

Evanna Lynch was a huge fan of the series as a kid. At the age of 12, she was struggling with an eating disorder and used the books as a source of inspiration to push forward. She began writing letters to Rowling, expressing how Harry Potter had helped her, and the two soon became pen pals.

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When she saw an open casting call for the role of Luna Lovegood, Lynch jumped at the opportunity and ended up landing the role. Over the course of filming, Lynch also became an ambassador for Rowling’s charity Lumos – named after a magic spell from Harry Potter.

This year, Rowling received criticism from the Harry Potter cast for her transphobic comments

Radcliffe’s statement was published by The Trevor Project – a non-profit dedicated to suicide prevention in the LGBTQ+ community. While Radcliffe acknowledged that Rowling was largely responsible for how his life and career had panned out thus far, he couldn’t stand by her comments. He apologised to all those who felt they could no longer cherish the Harry Potter series as they once did, and he hoped that people would still be able to find their own values in the stories despite Rowling’s tweets.

Watson posted a thread of tweets advocating for the transgender community and their right to identify as they please. She expressed her love for her transgender followers and also mentioned that she would be donating to charities that support their cause.

In line with his fellow cast members’ views, Grint said the following, according to The Independent, after J.K Rowling’s tweets, “I firmly stand with the trans community and echo the sentiments expressed by many of my peers.”

“Trans women are women. Trans men are men,” he added.

Earlier in 2021, he revisited the subject in an interview with Esquire. Grint felt that it was important to address the matter publicly, while still acknowledging that he had a great deal of respect for Rowling’s work.

Rowling wasn’t invited to the Harry Potter reunion?

In November, HBO Max announced the upcoming release of Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts. The trailer credits listed out all the cast and crew members who would be appearing in the reunion – but J.K. Rowling was notably absent from the list.

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On the same day, Watson posted throwback photos to her Instagram, looking back on her Harry Potter experience. She expressed her gratitude for the fans and her fellow cast members – however, once again, there was no mention of Rowling.

Rowling came under fire again for a tweet posted this December, which has largely been perceived as transphobic. The author hasn’t retracted her views or issued apologies for any of the statements she has made, despite facing backlash.