Cynthia Nixon reveals the ‘painful’ impact JK Rowling’s explosive comments had on her trans son
Cynthia Nixon (Gregg DeGuire/Getty) and (JK Rowling (John Phillips/Getty)
Cynthia Nixon has said JK Rowling’s explosive comments on trans people were “really painful” for her 23-year-old transgender son Samuel.
The queer Sex and the City actor revealed in a 2018 interview that her son had come out as trans.
Now, the star has opened up about the impact Rowling’s relentless tweets and essays have had on Samuel, who grew up immersed in Rowling’s wizarding world.
“It was really painful for him because so much of his childhood was tied up with Harry Potter,” Nixon told The Independent.
“We’re a Harry Potter family. The books seem to be about championing people who are different, so for her to select this one group of people who are obviously different and sort of deny their existence, it’s just… it’s really baffling.”
She continued: “I know she feels like she’s standing up for feminism, but I don’t get it.”
Cynthia Nixon hopes LGBT+ people will still be able to enjoy Harry Potter despite JK Rowling’s views.
Nixon went on to reveal that her son Max is currently in the middle of a “Harry Potter marathon” with a friend. When asked if Rowling’s trans comments made her uncomfortable with re-watching the films, Nixon referenced Daniel Radcliffe’s defence of the trans community, which he released through The Trevor Project in June.
“The thing that he tried to impart to people was that if you as a queer person or as a non-queer person have found a home in these stories, please don’t let this take that away from you,” Nixon said.
“These are still your stories.”
Rowling faced significant backlash from fans in June when she posted a series of tweets taking issue with trans-inclusive language around menstruation.
She went on to publish a lengthy essay in which she detailed her anti-trans views.
I know she feels like she’s standing up for feminism, but I don’t get it.
Nixon has spoken about her son Samuel’s momentous coming out on a number of occasions. Speaking to Alan Cumming and Chris Sweeney in May on the Homo Sapiens podcast, she revealed that she came to understand trans identities by reading an article before Samuel had opened up about his own identity.
“Before I ever had an inkling my kid might be trans I read a really extensive article… [about] all of these parents of pre-pubescent kids who were really struggling with this,” Nixon said.
“There was one dad who said, ‘At a certain point, the decision seemed to me I could have a dead son or a live daughter,’ and it’s like, after you say that, what more is there to say?”
She added: “You can make all the arguments that you want… but the fact is, as a parent, as a human, you should listen to what people tell you about themselves.”
