Anger erupts after JK Rowling appears to criticise Harry Potter stars: ‘The ones who made you rich’

Controversial author JK Rowling has been slammed after appearing to make a negative comment about members of the Harry Potter cast in a post on Twitter/X.

JK Rowling, who has become well-known for her views on the trans community in recent years, appeared to criticise actors Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint in a cryptic tweet. All three members of the trio have supported trans rights publicly in recent years.

In April 2024, JK Rowling made it clear that she was not planning to forgive Daniel Radcliffe or Emma Watson. In a thread on X, she wrote that she was “bloody angry” following the release of the Cass report, which made a series of recommendations in relation to restructuring the way trans youth receive healthcare in the UK.

“I read Cass this morning and my anger’s been mounting all day. Kids have been irreversibly harmed, and thousands are complicit, not just medics, but the celebrity mouthpieces, unquestioning media and cynical corporations,” she claimed.

After one follower demanded Radcliffe and Watson give her a “very public apology, safe in the knowledge that [Rowling] will forgive them,” the author responded: “Not safe, I’m afraid.”

She went on to say: “Celebs who cosied up to a movement intent on eroding women’s hard-won rights and who used their platforms to cheer on the transitioning of minors can save their apologies for traumatised detransitioners and vulnerable women reliant on single-sex spaces.”

On 18 March, she responded to a post on Twitter/X which read “What actor/actress instantly ruins a movie for you?” Rowling replied: “Three guesses. Sorry, but that was irresistible.”

While Rowling didn’t explicitly name who she was referencing, social media users criticised her for appearing to insult the actors with her comment.

Three guesses.

Sorry, but that was irresistible.
🤣🤣🤣 https://t.co/hAMHw2b8EV

— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) March 18, 2025

One person replied: “That’ll be the three people who made you rich, right?”

Another shared a screenshot of Rowling’s tweet, commenting: “‘The three actors I’ve known since they were children are now grown adults that don’t agree with my political views so now I hate them despite having personally profited from their labor’ is such an amazing own-goal.”

A third wrote: “And whoever that may be I’m sure they are busy living their best life rather than vague posting about you Joanne.”

Several actors within the Harry Potter film series have spoken out in support of trans rights since JK Rowling publicly began talking about the trans community in 2019.

Daniel Radcliffe, who played the titular boy wizard himself, directly referenced her comments in 2020, writing in a blog post for LGBTQ+ charity The Trevor Project: “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 healthcare associations who have far more expertise on this subject matter than either Jo [Rowling] or I.”

Emma Watson, who played Hermione Granger, has also vocally – and pointedly – expressed support for trans people.

In a series of tweets in June 2020, Watson said she wanted her transgender followers to know that she “and so many other people around the world see you, respect you and love you for who you are”.

Rupert Grint, who played Ron Weasley, also defended trans people shortly after Rowling’s comments.

“I firmly stand with the trans community and echo the sentiments expressed by many of my peers,” he told The Times.

“Trans women are women. Trans men are men. We should all be entitled to live with love and without judgment.”

Bonnie Wright, who played Ginny Weasley in the series, similarly directly commented on Rowling’s views, writing: “If Harry Potter was a source of love and belonging for you, that love is infinite and there to take without judgment or question… Transwomen [sic] are women. I see and love you.”

PinkNews has contacted representatives of JK Rowling for comment.