J.K. Rowling seemingly reignites feud with core Harry Potter cast for ‘ruining’ franchise

Controversial Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling appears to have reignited her feud with the film’s core stars with one shady tweet.

J.K. Rowling appears to have reignited her feud with Harry Potter stars, Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint, with one shady tweet.

The British author, who penned the much-loved book series, has seemingly taken a swipe at the trio who brought her beloved characters – Harry, Hermione and Ron – to life in the movie adaptation.

In the past, they had publicly criticised Rowling’s transphobic views, but the 59-year-old remains unapologetic in her stance that “no child is ‘born in the wrong body’”, thus straining her relationships with the trio.

British writer J.K. Rowling seemingly took a swipe at the core Harry Potter cast in a new tweet. Picture: Tolga Akmen / AFP

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This week, she appeared to awaken their feud in an exchange with a fan on X. When the fan asked, “What actor/actress instantly ruins a movie for you?”, Rowling responded with a cryptic remark.

“Three guesses … sorry, that was irresistible,” she tweeted with three laughing emojis.

X users were quick to speculate that Rowling was trolling Radcliffe, Watson and Grint with her comment, and many Harry Potter fans were left infuriated by the dig.

“Classy. Real classy. There are better ways to get attention than trying to beef people 30 years younger than you,” one tweeted, while another wrote, “The three who made you millionaire?”

“Excuse me? I think is highly disrespectful, you saw those kids grow, and they made your books and your economic situation reach those highs because of them,” another added, as one comment read, “They ruined the movies for you, but you ruined everything else for everyone else, at least for those with beating hearts.”

Rowling’s tweet appears to have reignited her feud with three Harry Potter stars.

Rowling received some support online, with others saying that it’s the cast who owe her for making their careers.

“Three guesses? 1. The same people who made millions off your work, then turned on you when it was ‘cool,’” one tweeted, as another echoed, “I wouldn’t be sorry. Their lives changed thanks to your work, and how do they repay you? Betrayal.”

“Agree with you. As someone who grew up with the series, it has been very disappointing how ungrateful those 3 have been,” another wrote.

X users were quick to speculate that Rowling’s tweets were about Rupert Grint, Danielle Radcliffe and Emma Watson. Picture: Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images

Indeed, last year Rowling said that she won’t be able to forgive Radcliffe and Watson after they spoke out against her stance on gender identity.

“Celebs who cosied up to a movement intent on eroding women’s hard-won rights and who used their platforms to cheer on the transitioning of minors can save their apologies for traumatised detransitioners and vulnerable women reliant on single sex spaces,” she tweeted in July.

“Kids have been irreversibly harmed, and thousands are complicit, not just medics, but the celebrity mouthpieces, unquestioning media, and cynical corporations,” she added later.

In 2020, Radcliffe publicly condemned the author for attacking the transgender community, saying he was “compelled to say something” as he did not agree with her views.

“Transgender women are women. 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,” he tweeted.

Rowling copped backlash online for her transphobic tweets. Picture: Jeff Spicer/Getty Images for Warner Bros

Watson was just as vocal, tweeting, “Trans people are who they say they are and deserve to live their lives without being constantly questioned or told they aren’t who they say they are. I want my trans followers to know that I and so many other people around the world see you, respect you, and love you for who you are.”

As for Grint, he released a statement at the time to say, “I firmly stand with the trans community and echo the sentiments expressed by many of my peers. Trans women are women. Trans men are men.”

However, he did not completely dismiss Rowling, calling their relationship “tricky”.

“I liken JK Rowling to an aunty. I don’t necessarily agree with everything my aunty says, but she’s still my aunty. It’s a tricky one,” he told The Times in 2022.

Radcliffe, Watson and Grint have starred in all eight Harry Potter films. Picture: Steve Finn/Getty Images

Rowling was first accused of transphobia when she fired off a tweet about women and menstruation.

The best-selling author was set off by the phrasing of a headline in an opinion piece about healthcare equality, titled: “Creating a more equal post-COVID-19 world for people who menstruate”.

“‘People who menstruate’. I’m sure there used to be a word for those people,” she tweeted in 2020. “Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?”

Her comment sparked backlash, with many calling her out for appearing to define a woman as someone who has a menstrual period.

She caused further outrage with subsequent remarks over the years, one of which she claimed transgender kids do not exist.

“There are no trans kids,” she tweeted in recent years. “No child is ‘born in the wrong body’. There are only adults like you, prepared to sacrifice the health of minors to bolster your belief in an ideology that will end up wreaking more harm than lobotomies and false memory syndrome combined.”