"I decided against it": Why Rowling skipped the Harry Potter Gala

In the dispute over supposedly anti-transgender tweets by the Harry Potter author, the main actors in the film have distanced themselves from her.

"I decided against it": Why Rowling skipped the Harry Potter Gala

In the dispute over supposedly anti-transgender tweets by the Harry Potter author, the main actors in the film have distanced themselves from her. J.K. Rowling is absent from a reunion in January. In the interview, she now explains her reasons.

When the "Harry Potter" stars celebrate a reunion on HBO Max in January 2022, author J.K. Rowling not there. In an interview with the British radio station "Virgin", the writer explained why she was missing. "I was asked if I wanted to take part and I decided against it," the 57-year-old told moderator Graham Norton. As can be heard in a YouTube video, she explained: "I thought it was more about the films than the books. Rightly so." Nobody told her to cancel. "I was asked to attend and I decided not to," she added.

Although Rowling did not appear in person on the special, portions of an interview with her were shown. In it, the author explains how difficult it was to find the right actor to play Harry Potter.

Rowling came under fire in June 2020 when she appeared to support anti-transgender views in a series of tweets. Though she denied that her views on feminism are anti-trans, she reiterated her controversial stances in a lengthy essay she published on her website. Harry Potter stars Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint distanced themselves from Rowling.

In an interview with Graham Norton, Rowling also spoke about her relationship with social media in general. Earlier this month, she received a death threat. The writer released a statement via Twitter condemning the stabbing attack on Salman Rushdie and expressing her horror. One of the commenters on the post then threatened Rowling, saying, "Don't worry, you're next."

Such verbal violence is not a new experience for the 57-year-old. As early as autumn 2021, she announced that she had received many death threats. "I try to behave online the way I want others to behave. I've never threatened anyone," she said in the interview. "Social media can be a lot of fun and I love the bar fight aspect." Nevertheless, they associate it with a kind of love-hate relationship.