Whew, this is bad. Okay, so by now we ALL know that JK Rowling is a transphobic monster, right? This isn’t a debate anymore. This isn’t “maybe she just misspoke” or “maybe she needs to better educate herself” or “maybe there’s some nuance to what she’s saying.” She’s a 55 year old woman of wealth, means and access, and over the past few years, she’s made it her mission to mock the very idea that transgenderism is a real thing, and that trans people should be (and in some countries ARE) a protected class. She isn’t merely content to be a transphobic bully in general – she’s also hellbent on convincing people that HER rights are being infringed upon because… people correctly call her a transphobe. Free speech! It’s her right to be a transphobe without consequences!
During a recent moment of transphobic BS from Rowling, Eddie Redmaybe made some pointed comments where he stood up for the trans community and publicly disagreed with Rowling’s hatefulness at the time. He said, in part: “I disagree with Jo’s comments. Trans women are women, trans men are men and non-binary identities are valid. I would never want to speak on behalf of the community but I do know that my dear transgender friends and colleagues are tired of this constant questioning of their identities, which all too often results in violence and abuse. They simply want to live their lives peacefully, and it’s time to let them do so.” Months later, and Redmayne is saying something else. And it sucks.
Eddie Redmayne – a cisgender man who famously played the role of a transgender woman in 2015 – is standing up for author J.K. Rowling in the face of widespread criticism for her transphobic comments and tweets. Redmayne told the Daily Mail that Rowling was receiving alarming “vitriol” on social media and he called it “absolutely disgusting.”
He was so upset that Rowling was facing criticism for her anti-transgender tweets and her 3700-word rambling diatribe against transgender people that he sent her a personal note of support, he said. Redmayne, who stressed that he has “trans friends and colleagues,” knows Rowling through his work on two Fantastic Beasts films, which were based on books written by Rowling. He is currently working on a third Fantastic Beasts movie.
He also condemned those who harass transgender people on social media as “equally disgusting” as people who criticize Rowling.
“Similarly, there continues to be a hideous torrent of abuse towards trans people online and out in the world that is devastating,” he said.
I mean… I think Rowling gets some disgusting hate and internet abuse thrown at her too, and it absolutely sucks. It’s not cool and it gives HER an air of credibility. And let’s be clear: she has zero credibility. You can believe that it’s horrible that people are tweeting abuse at Rowling AND you can believe that Rowling’s transphobia is disgusting and dangerous to the trans community. Both things can be true. If Redmayne said it that way, then I would agree with him. But it sounds more like he’s carrying water for his transphobic boss, and that maybe he doesn’t actually have any problems working with an unhinged bully who thinks transgenderism is a mental illness.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
He is saying this just because he is about to start filming FB3 and he doesn’t wanna loose his paycheck.
Pretty much. He’s another “Oscar so what”? He won a best actor Oscar and it’s been pure mediocrity ever since. Even his franchise attempt with Fantastic Beasts was mediocre (no big bonuses or plum pay raises coming from that one!). He’s so mediocre and dull it’s almost painful.
If we must with the pasty posh privileged Englishmen? At least Cumberbatch has some fire.
But he can. He is a cis, straight, white man.
He would have been fine.
Oh Eddie. Dude. No,
Just shows that most of them aren’t genuine as they pretend to be, even the “wok(est)” ones it’s only about image. This is why people shouldn’t care about what celebrities say.
@Angel.
Yup.
Sighs.. it will never cease to sadden me how low Jo went. She tarnished her reputation (and continues to do so!) when growing up and during different times Harry Potter was a beacon of light and hope for me. I will never understand it.
Rowling used her fame to denigrate and dehumanize trans people. Did she think people were going to send her love letters for being a hater?
someone: says something very hateful and hurtful about a marginalized community
everyone: is hurt, responds angrily, stops approving of someone
someone: see, your disapproval of me is the same as my disapproval of the marginalized community. we are all victims here
IT’S NOT THE SAME, STOP MAKING FALSE EQUIVALENCIES
+1000. All the time.
Exactly this!!
Although Jk does deserve rightful criticism for what she has said, some or the vitriol has been disgusting on Twitter particularly, rape threats, death threats etc. It’s not ok, and I’m assuming that’s what Eddie is actually referring to.
He still didnt walk back what he said about diagreeing with her. This is fine to me, you can disagree with someone and still think it’s bad for them to be sent rape threats.
This ALL DAY. It’s so frustrating.
I do agree with pearl, death threats and such are never called for, and people can fight back against her without becoming monsters themselves. But I have little sympathy for her, as this was all self inflicted.
Really gross and doubly so coming from someone who made money/garnered a lot of acclaim for playing a transgender character.
Gah! What an equivalency Redmayne makes. Calling out a rich, privileged, white woman who has a HUGE voice and lots of power is not the same as harassing trans people who are vulnerable, outcast, and at risk for self harm and suicide. I wish people would just cancel her and pretend she doesn’t exist because the harassment does give her an air of victimhood. We treat the entire Harry Potter universe like Voldemort and just never mention it. And it was once a huge part of our lives. We read the books, had the costumes, toys, wands, went to Universal, etc. I found a Harry lego figure under the couch the other day and I just binned it without a word. The pics of my trans son dressed like Hermione are tucked away in the closet never to be displayed at Halloween time again. Instead of wasting time on her we should be spreading positive messages and representations of trans people.
JK Rowling can feel what she feels and believe what she believes, but the minute she uses a very public forum with incredible reach to spread her gospel she loses any right to complain about the reaction to it.
The disingenuous-ness of very well known people to any backlash or criticism they receive for using social media these days is stupefying. But it proves what I’ve always known and is now clearly an undeniable truism; social media is the drug of narcissists. They love it for the attention and validation they receive, it’s a high they get to experience every single second of the day if they so choose. But as with any addiction it bites back. And that sting is amplified in this medium, and can pile on quicker with little to no control. Yet they come back for more. A vicious circle with a clear and undisputed cure.
Delete your accounts.
You’ve hit the nail on the head. The narcissism is rampant with JK, and the sheer arrogance that she knows everything about Trans lives and experiences, even though she really doesn’t. She persists because she is privileged and knows her voice carries power and she clearly has a bone to pick with that community.
I just wish some people online could express themselves without resorting to rape and death threats. She doesn’t deserve that, no one does, especially after she spoke about her DV experience. It’s gross and completely takes away from the argument. It gives a space to empathise with her views and that actually is a huge own goal.
I do think most people will see this as a crass business decision on ER’s part. And I’m sure he’s under a lot of pressure to support the films, which don’t do terribly well anyway.
None of this had to happen if adults were committed to behaving like adults. Beginning in pre-school (and ideally from birth), we teach something that’s universally called The Golden Rule. I understand how confusing it must be since it, most likely, came from Confucius. But it has been adopted by almost every religion worldwide and has become a very important global ethic. So let me spell things out for you Mrs. JK Rowling (or is it Mr?). Treat others as you would have them treat you. If you can’t utter niceties, perhaps you should toy with keeping your antiquated opinions and hate speech to your privileged self.
JK Rowling was somewhat of a heroine for me. Don’t know why she is so loud about this. The Tumblr crowd is shitting on her too and they used to love her.
This is so gross, and knowing what we know now about JK’s hateful views, I can’t help but think there was something insidious in the casting of Redmayne in fantastic beasts. I mean, the alternative is that it was just a coincidence that they chose a cis man who had previously played a trans woman as the lead here.
At the very least, they 100% had some disgusting conversations about “bringing awareness” to the “issue” of “men dressing as women,” which as we know is like her top fear (because she’s an idiot and a bigot). You know she brought it up – apparently, she can’t help herself – and from his flip-flop stances above, Redmayne undoubtedly nodded empathically along with her while fantasizing about his royalty checks. (I know she’s not the casting director, but she was directly responsible for Depp staying on and therefore has considerable pull in that dept.)
Also, the Fantastic Beasts series is AWFUL, TERRIBLE, SO BAD, EWW, so no big loss here. Pass on Fantastic Beasts, pass on JK, and pass on Redmayne too.
The filming of Fantastic Beasts started before The Danish Girl came out. Casting for both films was most likely at about the same time. It’s just a coincidence.
What’s not a coincidence, is that Redmayne even opened his trap both times – he only spoke about this because he’s linked to both. And people were looking at his direction when HP stars started talking.
And now he’s trying to have it both ways – he was against JKR because others were, and now when she’s gaining some support and some trans rights were rolled back in Britain, plus filming has begun, he changed his story.
He’s turning with the wind. No spine, just jelly.
Is she ill? I don’t understand why this woman who received so much social credit from the Harry Potter universe she created would choose to die on this bridge. To what end is she continuing down this path of attacking such a vulnerable group that’s already under attack. I just don’t get this, so I ask, is she ill?
Worse, she believes her own hype and that she has power to make change. What change, I don’t know. I’m not sure what she’s trying to achieve with this, but every time this hits the headlines it kicks up a massive storm and gets a lot of attention – SHE – gets a lot of attention. We’d all be better off ignoring her tripe and focusing on the issues at hand – supporting and elevating the trans community and progressing towards equality and acceptance.
She uses her platform for hate. She should be banned from twitter for it, not sent kind notes from celebrities
And THIS is why cis men should not be playing trans women. Period.
VV thanks for saying this, I agree completely. I used to not care who played who in these situations, but the last few years I’ve changed my mind and not a minute too soon. Marginalized groups must be allowed to portray their own because THEY don’t get to take off some make up and clothes and go on with their lives, this is THEIR lives. This guy can fence sit because at the end of the day he’s not affected by what she said using her enormous platform. I hope this follows in the future.