Harry Potter Star Evanna Lynch Says J.K. Rowling Deserves “More Grace”

“I just felt that her character has always been to advocate for the most vulnerable members of society. The problem is that there’s a disagreement over who’s the most vulnerable,” the actor said in a recent interview.

When given the opportunity to address J.K. Rowling’s remarks about trans people—a going concern since 2020—many Harry Potter stars have taken pains to say they don’t agree with the author. But Evanna Lynch, who starred as Luna Lovegood in the film franchise, has taken another approach.

“I just felt that her character has always been to advocate for the most vulnerable members of society. The problem is that there’s a disagreement over who’s the most vulnerable,” Lynch said when asked by The Telegraph about Rowling’s controversial statements regarding the transgender community. “I do wish people would just give her more grace and listen to her.”

Lynch, who previously defended Rowling as a “generous and loving person” in a since-deleted Twitter thread in 2020, now says she was “very naive when I was dragged into that conversation,” telling the outlet, “I didn’t even know there were two sides. I had a view of, like, good and bad. I do have compassion for both sides of the argument. I know what it was like to be a teenager who hated my body so much I wanted to crawl out of my skin, so I have great compassion for trans people and I don’t want to add to their pain.”

The actor said that Rowling was very supportive when Lynch was recovering from anorexia, before continuing to praise the author. “I do also think it’s important that JK Rowling has been amplifying the voices of detransitioners,” Lynch continued. “I had this impulse to go, ‘Let’s all just stop talking about it,’ and I think probably I’m a bit braver now about having uncomfortable conversations.”

There is a division among Harry Potter stars when it comes to Rowling’s standing. In 2020, Harry Potter himself,  Daniel Radcliffe, wrote a blog post for LGBTQ+ advocacy group the Trevor Project, condemning Rowling’s views. When recently asked why he wrote the letter, Radcliffe told IndieWire he “felt very, very much as though I needed to say something when I did, because, particularly since finishing Potter, I’ve met so many queer and trans kids and young people who had a huge amount of identification with Potter on that. And so seeing them hurt on that day… I wanted them to know that not everybody in the franchise felt that way. And that was really important.” Emma Watson and Rupert Grint have similarly denounced Rowling’s remarks.

Meanwhile, both Helena Bonham Carter and Ralph Fiennes have defended Rowling against “cancel culture.” In a new interview with The Times, Bonham Carter said backlash against the author was “horrendous, a load of bollocks,” adding, “I think she has been hounded.” Fiennes told The New York Times that he believes the “verbal abuse directed at her is disgusting” and “appalling.” Meanwhile, Tom Felton told Vanity Fair in 2022 that he’s “pro-discussion, pro-choice, pro-people-doing-whatever-they-want-to-do, provided they’re not hurting people,” adding, “I think it would be irresponsible for me to wade in.”

Despite the discourse, Harry Potter’s legacy—and future franchise potential—remain stubbornly entangled with its creator. In fact, more series spin-offs may only happen if Rowling is involved, according to Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav—who told investors last November that he wants to see “if we can do something with J.K. on Harry Potter going forward.”