Fans Continue to Justify the New Harry Potter Series by Ignoring Why People Are Boycotting JK Rowling
When HBO released the teaser for their new Harry Potter series last week, it was inevitable that JK Rowling, the creator of the beloved series, would be a topic of conversation.
Rowling’s unabashed anti-trans rhetoric and the vast amount of funding she’s put towards this cause has often clashed with the feel-good, acceptance-for-outsiders nature of her incredibly popular among millennials books. This has led to many people who grew up with and love the series have to reckon with questions about art versus the artist, the nature of money and power, and how we interact with beloved media from our past. Others have decided to eschew that kind of intellectual strain, and instead bury their heads in the sand or make bad faith arguments for a nostalgia hit.
What makes supporting the HBO Harry Potter spin off so morally dubious from a fan standpoint is that Rowling has pledged to continue to use her immense wealth on anti-trans causes. While Rowling has always claimed this is to “protect women,” it has mean she has aligned with and praised figures such as Matt Walsh, who is severely anti-abortion, has advocated for racist conspiracy theories like the Great Replacement theory, and genuinely argued that the made-up creature of a mermaid couldn’t be black from a “scientific” perspective.
This is in stark contrast to C.S Lewis and J.R.R Tolkein, who have no ability to use their wealth for political ends as both have been dead for well over half a century. Lewis was also well-noted for his reluctance to wade into political issues, choosing instead to focus on his faith.
Whether or not people watch the series isn’t a grand moral test that will decide if someone is good or bad, but pretending there are no ethical and moral questions to be asked when the success of one thing is so intrinsically linked to the degredation of another is much worse than passing judgement. And no magic wand can wave that away.
(featured image: Karwai Tang/WireImage)
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