UPDATED 6/10, 9:56 p.m. ET: Warner Bros. has released a statement on J.K. Rowling's comments about the transgender community, Varietyreports.
"The events in the last several weeks have firmed our resolve as a company to confront difficult societal issues," Warner Bros. said in the statement. "Warner Bros.’ position on inclusiveness is well established, and fostering a diverse and inclusive culture has never been more important to our company and to our audiences around the world. We deeply value the work of our storytellers who give so much of themselves in sharing their creations with us all. We recognize our responsibility to foster empathy and advocate understanding of all communities and all people, particularly those we work with and those we reach through our content."
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J.K. Rowling is defending recent comments she made that were widely deemed transphobic, including by Harry Potter franchise alums Daniel Radcliffe and Eddie Redmayne.
In a lengthy essay shared to her official site on Wednesday, Rowling said that her "interest in trans issues" pre-dated both her most recent controversy, which included comments GLAAD said distorted "facts about gender identity and people who are trans," and her December 2019 support of Maya Forstater.
"So why am I doing this? Why speak up? Why not quietly do my research and keep my head down?" Rowling said in the essay. From there, she outlined five reasons for being, in her words, "worried about the new trans activism" and its "effects" on causes she supports.
"We're living through the most misogynistic period I've experienced," Rowling said Wednesday. "Back in the 80s, I imagined that my future daughters, should I have any, would have it far better than I ever did, but between the backlash against feminism and a porn-saturated online culture, I believe things have got significantly worse for girls. Never have I seen women denigrated and dehumanised to the extent they are now."
Later on, Rowling spoke on being a sexual assault and domestic abuse survivor, something she's not previously addressed publicly.
"I'm mentioning these things now not in an attempt to garner sympathy, but out of solidarity with the huge numbers of women who have histories like mine, who've been slurred as bigots for having concerns around single-sex spaces," Rowling said.
Read the author's latest comments in full here. Thus far, the criticism remains ongoing:
