Longtime actor and Succession star Brian Cox has lent his support to Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling amid her anti-trans controversy. Rowling first became a controversial figure in 2018, when she liked a post on Twitter that referred to transgender women as "men in dresses." The following year, Rowling voiced her support for British tax expert Maya Forstater, who was let go from her job after she published a series of messages on social media referring to transgender women as men. Since then, Rowling has gone on to become more and more vocal on her transphobic views, often claiming that the existence of transgender woman erases the hardships that cisgender women have had to go through. Her comments have caused massive controversy from many once-loyal Harry Potter fans, and have divided many actors within the franchise itself.Now, Succession's Brian Cox has joined the conversation, siding with Rowling after the author has received significant backlash for her anti-trans commentary.
In an interview with the British talk show Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg (via Entertainment Weekly), Cox defended Rowling, saying that she is entitled to her own opinion, particularly as a woman expressing opinions about the female body. Cox says that he doesn't "like the way she's been treated," and that people opposing Rowling "have been a bit high and mighty about their own attitude." See Cox's comment below:
I don't like the way she's been treated, actually. I think she's entitled to her opinion, she's entitled to say what she feels. As a woman, she's very much entitled to say what she feels about her own body. There's nobody better to say that, as a woman. So, I do feel that people have been a bit high and mighty about their own attitude toward J.K. Rowling.
Other Actors' Takes on the J.K. Rowling Controversy
This is not the first time Cox has sided with Rowling. In a May 2022 interview with Piers Morgan, Cox discussed his opinions on cancel culture, calling it "total fascism." The actor went on to use the example of Rowling, and described her being canceled in the public eye as "deeply unjust." Cox is not the only actor to side with Rowling amid this controversy, however, with Harry Potter stars Helena Bonham Carter and Ralph Fiennes coming to the author's defense. Fiennes took a standpoint similar to Cox, saying that Rowling is simply "just a woman saying, ‘I’m a woman and I feel I’m a woman and I want to be able to say that I’m a woman.’"
Other actors, however, have spoken out against Rowling's transphobic comments, including Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and most recently, Harry Potter's Dudley Dursley actor Harry Melling. Melling, while not outright condemning Rowling for her stance, says plainly that "transgender women are women and transgender men are men." He goes on to say that while these are his beliefs, he also acknowledges that he as a cisgendered man isn't the "correct spokesperson" for transgender issues. Similarly, The Sandman's Desire actor Mason Alexander Park joined the conversation, saying that above all else, it's important to listen to transgender voices.
While Rowling's controversy has now been going on steadily for several years, it doesn't seem to be slowing, with the author continuing to voice her transphobic opinions and actors coming out to speak their piece on the debate. As for the Wizarding World, the new Harry Potter game Hogwarts Legacy is doing extremely well for the franchise, while the Fantastic Beasts films seem to have stalled entirely. Though some people want to separate the author from the work, it's becoming clear that the fate of the Harry Potter franchise is tied directly to Rowling and her many controversies.
Source: Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg (via EW)