- Controversy surrounding the "
Harry Potter " offshoot "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" franchise has been bubbling up for a while. - "Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling has recently been criticized for her comments regarding trans people and gender identity.
- The first two "Fantastic Beasts" movies were already controversial due to the casting of Johnny Depp (who is the subject of ongoing domestic violence allegations).
- Many fans also didn't believe that Rowling did enough to address past comments or provide representation in her new films.
- For instance, she didn't explicitly include Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald's gay identities or relationship onscreen, and said that Voldemort's snake was originally an Asian woman.
- On top of these controversies, it's also unclear whether the "Fantastic Beasts" franchise will continue due to COVID-19 delays.
When the "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" films — which follow magizoologist Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) and take place in the "Harry Potter" universe — were first announced, they seemed to have all the ingredients necessary to generate another beloved magical franchise.
"Potter" author J.K. Rowling was set to write all five movies, and a number of creatives from the original movies (like director David Yates and producer David Heyman) were on board.
But controversies surrounding Rowling and "Fantastic Beasts" have been bubbling up for a while, and the author's recent comments about the trans community (as well as COVID-19 delays on the third
J.K. Rowling has been called out for her comments on trans people and gender
Recent criticisms of J.K. Rowling were sparked by her comments about trans people.
On June 6, she tweeted a link to an article about creating a more equal world for people who menstruate.
Rowling wrote, "'People who menstruate.' I'm sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?'"
Many Twitter users pointed out that the author's sentiments are transphobic, since trans men, gender non-conforming, and non-binary people can also menstruate. They also noted that equating menstruation with womanhood erases the experiences of women who don't menstruate, which can be attributed to menopause or health conditions such as endometriosis.
Rowling then doubled down on her position in a Twitter thread, writing that while she does "know and love trans people," "erasing the concept of sex removes the ability of many to meaningfully discuss their lives."
—J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) June 6, 2020
Many people called Rowling a "TERF"— a term that stands for Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminist. The label "TERF" is itself controversial, as some self-identified gender critical feminists view it as hate speech, but it's history and usage is complicated, as Insider reporter Canela López writes.
In further response, the author expanded on her views in a letter posted on her website on June 10 entitled, "J.K. Rowling Writes about Her Reasons for Speaking out on Sex and Gender Issues."
Rowling listed five reasons why she's "worried about the new trans activism," adding that being a survivor of domestic abuse and sexual assault informed some of her feelings about women's rights, and her fears that they were being eroded.
She went on to suggest that, had she been born "30 years later," she also might have tried to transition, since "the allure of escaping womanhood would have been huge."
The author also said that while she believes most trans people deserve protection, "When you throw open the doors of bathrooms and changing rooms to any man who believes or feels he's a woman ... then you open the door to any and all men who wish to come inside."
—J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) June 10, 2020
Rowling has since faced backlash from "Potter" stars, other celebrities, and fans alike.
Daniel Radcliffe, who played the titular protagonist of the original movie series, wrote a response to her initial tweets for The Trevor Project, a non-profit aimed at supporting LGBTQ youth.
"Transgender women are women," he said. "Any statement to the contrary erases the identity and dignity of transgender people and goes against all advice given by professional health care associations who have far more expertise on this subject matter than either Jo or I."
Eddie Redmayne, who plays the lead role in the "Fantastic Beasts" movies, released a statement to Variety pushing back against Rowling's statements.
"As someone who has worked with both J.K. Rowling and members of the trans community, I wanted to make it absolutely clear where I stand," he said. "I disagree with Jo's comments. Trans women are women, trans men are men and non-binary identities are valid."
Meanwhile, many "Potter" fans (especially trans fans and other members of the LGBTQ community) have expressed heartbreak over the author's statements, since the series and fandom were important parts of their childhood.
"[Rowling] has invalidated the struggles of trans people to her followers at a time when trans people are experiencing particular violence," Karla Beauty Marx, a 24-year-old fan from Johannesburg, South Africa, previously told Insider. "I, like so many other trans people, found a home at Hogwarts and she is now making this home a hostile environment."
These recent comments aren't the first instances of Rowling acting controversially towards the trans community. Last year, she was criticized for defending a UK-based tax expert who made transphobic comments and was fired from her job as a result.
In 2018, Rowling liked a tweet that referred to trans women as "men in dress." In 2017, the author liked a tweet that promoted a transphobic Medium article. Rowling's pen name, Robert Galbraith, also happens to be the name of a famous anti-LGBTQ conversion therapist (although she claimed that she came up with the name on her own).
In her 2013 book "The Silkworm" (which is the second book in her "Cormoran Strike" series, and was written under the pen name), a trans woman character is "threatened with prison rape."
The first two 'Fantastic Beasts' movies were already controversial because of Johnny Depp
Before the first "Fantastic Beasts" even hit theaters in 2016, the movie became a point of controversy when Johnny Depp was cast. At the time that the casting news broke, the actor had recently settled his divorce with Amber Heard amid domestic violence allegations.
Many fans were concerned that an actor whose ex-wife had recently said he was physically and verbally abusive would be part of a new "Potter" franchise (although Depp denied that he ever abused his ex-wife, the two remain in an ongoing legal conflict based on Heard's allegations).
Things worsened when it was revealed that Depp would play the "Fantastic Beast" films' main villain, Grindelwald, in the four planned, subsequent films — despite the fact that the character, who was played by actor Colin Farrell for most of the first movie, can shape-shift and could've easily been replaced by someone else. As a result of fan backlash, Rowling, Yates, producer Heyman, and film studio Warner Bros. all issued statements defending Depp's casting.
"Based on our understanding of the circumstances, the filmmakers and I are not only comfortable sticking with our original casting, but genuinely happy to have Johnny playing a major character in the movies," Rowling said in her statement.
It should be noted he's not the only controversial cast member currently in the film. On April 6, lead "Fantastic Beasts" actor Ezra Miller (whose character Credence was revealed to be Dumbledore's long-lost brother) also became a point of controversy when a video surfaced online of him appearing to choke a woman. Miller and Warner Bros. haven't commented on the matter, and no charges were filed.
Fans also didn't think that Rowling did enough to address shortcomings in her other works and past comments.
Rowling revealed after the "Harry Potter" books came out that Grindelwald and main "Harry Potter" character Albus Dumbledore were both gay and had been in a relationship. Given that there are no openly LGBTQ characters in the original series (and that younger versions of both Dumbledore and Grindelwald are present in the second film) many fans were upset when neither character's gay identities were explored in the sequel, "The Crimes of Grindelwald."
In "Crimes of Grindelwald," the author also disclosed that main "Harry Potter" character Voldemort's snake servant, Nagini, was originally an Asian woman (played by South Korean actress Claudia Kim) who permanently turned into a snake because of a curse.
"Now, there were always hints that she had been human," Rowling said in a film extra for "The Crimes of Grindelwald." "In her name — because the Naga are, in mythology, a race of snake beings. So the name was an allusion to the fact that she may herself once have been human."
Still, fans criticized her for what they said were the racist optics of a woman of color (of which there were not many in the original series) forced to lose her humanity/agency and serve a white male villain.
It's unclear whether the 'Fantastic Beasts' franchise will continue due to these controversies, as well as COVID-19 delays
Although the first "Fantastic Beasts" film was a box office hit, "Crimes of Grindelwald" was the lowest-performing "Harry Potter" movie ever, and received poor reviews.
"Fantastic Beasts 3" was originally supposed to be released in the fall of 2020, but was pushed back to November 12, 2021, to provide time for script polishing as a result.
The movie started filming in March of 2020; however, production was almost immediately shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic.
As the controversies and delays surrounding the film series continue to pile up, "Potter" fans will have to wait and see if the next three planned "Fantastic Beasts" films will come to fruition at all.