Harry Potter Series Will Not Be ‘Secretly Infused’ with J.K. Rowling’s ‘Personal Political Views,’ Says HBO Chief
The head of HBO is speaking out following backlash over J.K. Rowling’s latest anti-transgender comments.
Casey Bloys, the CEO of the network, weighed in on the Harry Potter author’s involvement in the upcoming HBO series on the April 30 episode of The Town podcast, days after Nicola Coughlan and Pedro Pascal both slammed Rowling, 59, for her support of the U.K. Supreme Court ruling that trans women are not legally women.
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“The decision to be in business with J.K. Rowling is not new for us. We’ve been in business for 25 years,” Bloys said on the podcast, after he was asked if he’s constantly monitoring the author’s X account to see what else she posts.
“We already have a show on HBO from her called C.B. Strike that we do with the BBC.”
As it relates to the upcoming series adaptation of her bestselling book series — which Rowling serves as an executive producer on — Bloys clarified, “Harry Potter is not being secretly infused with anything.”
“I think it’s pretty clear that those are her personal political views. She’s entitled to them,” he added. “And if you want to debate her, you can go on Twitter.”
Rowling first faced backlash in 2020 over anti-transgender comments she made on X, which has since then become a frequent point of conflict for many of the Harry Potter movie stars. Rupert Grint, Emma Watson and Daniel Radcliffe all spoke out in support of the transgender community quickly afterwards.
Controversy over the author has again caught steam amid HBO’s development of the new Harry Potter series, as well as in response to her April tweets, which Pascal slammed as “awful” and disgusting” as he called Rowling a “heinous loser.”
John Lithgow, who will play the iconic Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore in the series, didn’t have a very strong stance on the subject, though.
He told The Times that he “absolutely” did “not” expect to face questions about the author’s political views when he took on the role, and instead found himself wondering, “Why is this a factor at all?”
“I wonder how J.K. Rowling has absorbed it. I suppose at a certain point I’ll meet her and I’m curious to talk to her,” Lithgow, 79, said.
When asked point-blank if the backlash made him rethink the gig, he said, “Oh, heavens no.”
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