David Tennant says he wishes Harry Potter author J.K.Rowling “no ill will”, but there has been “demonization” of the trans community and that he hopes that we “can all as a society just let people be.”
The Guardian newspaper reports that the former Doctor Who star – who appeared in the 2005 film adaptation of Rowling’s book Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire – gave his opinion of Rowling in answer to questions posed by a group of neurodivergent young adults in ITV’s show The Assembly.Tennant said:
“JK Rowling is a wonderful author who’s created brilliant stories, and I wish her no ill will, but I hope that we can all as a society, just let people be. Just get out of people’s way.”
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His remarks come after the UK’s Supreme Court decreed last week that the terms “woman” and “sex” refer only to biological woman and to biological sex. Rowling reportedly donated £70,000 to Women Scotland who brought the legal case before the court.
Tennant and Rowling have become two of the highest profile figures in the ongoing debate in the UK over trans rights, with their opposing views often creating headlines. In June 2024, after politician Kemi Badenoch called for a bar on transgender people in single sex spaces, Tennant said publicly she should “shut up;” when Badenoch was later voted leader of her political party, Rowling wrote on X that her “thoughts and prayers” were with Tennant at this difficult time.
Tennant likened the treatment of transgender people to a policy by the UK government to introduce section 28 – a law introduced in 1988 to prohibit local authorities from promoting homosexuality.
He said: ““We look back on that now as a medieval, absurd thing to try and say, and I think the way the trans community is being demonised and othered is exactly the same. It’s become this kind of political football.”
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