Actress Bel Powley, who’s set to appear in the Harry Potter series, has spoken out on author JK Rowling’s views on gender and her comments on the transgender community.
The Possession star will take on the role of Petunia Dursley, Harry Potter’s aunt, in the upcoming HBO series, which will reimagine Rowling’s books for TV. Fiona Shaw previously played the character in the film series.
Speaking to The Telegraph, Powley said: “I strongly disagree with JK Rowling’s views on gender. I think that the trans community deserve safety and dignity and respect and total acceptance.”
However, she went on to add: “I love Harry Potter. I grew up with the books. I am from that first generation of readers and, again, I love magic and spookiness.”
The Harry Potter series is set to be released at Christmas and will also star the likes of Paapa Essiedu (Severus Snape), Janet McTeer (Minerva McGonagall), John Lithgow (Albus Dumbledore), and Nick Frost (Rubeus Hagrid). Dominic McLaughlin will take on the role of the Boy Who Lived.
Harry Potter author Rowling has faced backlash in some quarters due to her views on transgender rights.
In 2020, she published a lengthy statement detailing her stance on sex and gender debates – the essay was criticised and disputed by LGBTQ+ charities including Stonewall.
Rowling has also shared her views on social media, including in a 2024 post on X (formerly Twitter), in which she insisted that “there are no trans kids” and opposed the idea that a child can be “born in the wrong body”.
In May 2025, Rowling set up the JK Rowling Women’s Fund, which describes itself as offering legal funding support to “individuals and organisations fighting to retain women’s sex-based rights”.
Harry Potter actors including Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson, have distanced themselves from Rowling’s views and have issued statements supporting the transgender community. Others, including Ralph Fiennes, Helena Bonham Carter and Jim Broadbent, have defended the author from the criticism she has received.
Harry Potter will be coming to HBO in the US and HBO Max globally on 25 December 2026. Subscribe to HBO Max in the UK from £5.99 a month.
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