'Transgender women are women': Daniel Radcliffe rebukes J.K. Rowling's comments and apologizes to 'Harry Potter' readers if their experience of the books is now tarnished

• Actor Daniel Radcliffe, who played the titular character in the "Harry Potter" movie series, responded to author and creator J.K. Rowling's remarks on Twitter over the weekend.
• Rowling tweeted comments over the weekend that appeared to mock a headline of an op-ed calling for equality amongst "people who menstruate."
• Over the weekend, celebrities and activists swiftly called out Rowling's tweets as "transphobic."
• While Radcliffe wrote his response could be viewed as "in-fighting" between him and Rowling, he wrote he felt compelled to respond as a supporter of The Trevor Project for the last decade and "just as a human being."
• "It's clear that we need to do more to support transgender and nonbinary people, not invalidate their identities, and not cause further harm," the actor wrote.
• Radcliffe went on to apologize to any "Harry Potter" readers who were hurt by Rowling's comments, adding that he hopes that "you don't entirely lose what was valuable in these stories to you."

Actor Daniel Radcliffe responded to "Harry Potter" author and creator J.K. Rowling's recent Twitter comments, apologizing to readers who have been hurt by Rowling's comments.

Rowling faced backlash over the past weekend after she posted tweeted remarks that appeared to mock a headline of an op-ed calling for equality amongst "people who menstruate."

"'People who menstruate.' I'm sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?" Rowling tweeted.

Celebrities and activists swiftly called out Rowling's tweets as "transphobic."

Radcliffe, who played the titular character in the "Harry Potter" movie series, penned a response to Rowling's tweet for The Trevor Project, a non-profit organization aimed at supporting LGBTQ+ youth.

Radcliffe wrote that while his response could be portrayed as "in-fighting between J.K. Rowling and myself," he wrote "that is really not what this is about, nor is it what's important right now."

He acknowledged how Rowling is "unquestionably responsible for the course my life has taken," but as a supporter of The Trevor Project for the last decade and "just as a human being," Radcliffe wrote he felt "compelled" to respond.

"Transgender women are women," he wrote. "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."

Radcliffe wrote that 78% of transgender and nonbinary youth reported being the subject of discrimination due to their gender identity, citing statistics from The Trevor Project.

"It's clear that we need to do more to support transgender and nonbinary people, not invalidate their identities, and not cause further harm," the actor wrote.

He went on to say he was "deeply sorry" to "all the people who now feel that their experience of the books has been tarnished or diminished" in light of Rowling's remarks, who has been accused of transphobia in the past. The "Harry Potter" actor wrote he hopes that "you don't entirely lose what was valuable in these stories to you."

Radcliffe wrote, "If these books taught you that love is the strongest force in the universe, capable of overcoming anything; if they taught you that strength is found in diversity, and that dogmatic ideas of pureness lead to the oppression of vulnerable groups; if you believe that a particular character is trans, nonbinary, or gender fluid, or that they are gay or bisexual; if you found anything in these stories that resonated with you and helped you at any time in your life — then that is between you and the book that you read, and it is sacred."

"And in my opinion, nobody can touch that," he concluded. "It means to you what it means to you and I hope that these comments will not taint that too much."