JK Rowling‘s casting call for a new Harry Potter series on HBO has sparked calls for a ‘boycott’ of the programme from critics angry at her views on gender.
The author, who has been outspoken on the topic of women’s rights, was branded ‘depraved’ by one trans activist over her staunch views on gender identity.
It came after the 59-year-old, who has always denied being transphobic, shared a post about a casting call for the show with the caption: ‘So, this is happening…’
Meanwhile, others called for people not to take part in the show and threatened to boycott budding actors, including children, who are cast in it.
It is the latest in a long list of attacks on Rowling, which have seen her political opponents repeatedly call for her to be shunned over her views on gender which have seen her rail against transgender women in single-sex spaces and sports.
JK Rowling came under fire from gender activists as she shared an announcement that a new HBO show is casting for Harry Potter. Pictured: The author at the premiere of Fantastic Beasts: The secrets of Dumbledore in 2022
While news about the HBO show has sparked much excitement among fans of the best-selling children’s books, opponents of the multi-millionaire novelist wasted no time in demanding a boycott of the programme.
Replying to Rowling’s tweet, one trans activist wrote: ‘Boycott this bulls***, this TERF deserves to be broke and suffering for the rest of their depraved wretched life.’
One added: ‘Threaten to boycott the work of any actor who participates in the upcoming Harry Potter series. If enough people do this, it will have an impact.’
Another person said: ‘Any child actor with a decent agent will be telling them to stay the hell away from this woman omg.’
And one person simply wrote: ‘I’m up for the boycott.’
One person, referring to Rowling’s opinions on controversial Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, said: ‘Boycott shame on you! You harassed a woman because she doesn’t look like a woman in your eyes.’
Some have rushed to Rowling’s defence, saying they ‘dearly hope’ she will be involved in the production as the search for the new Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger kicks off.
One person wrote: ‘Im actually hyped about this. A story to watch with my kids and then show them the OGs.’
Another added: ‘I’m actually really excited for this because the books cut out a lot of stuff and I think Harry Potter works better as a tv series anyway.’
HBO released a casting call for the TV series on Sunday, explaining that bosses are looking for children who will be aged between nine and 11 in April 2025 and are a resident of the UK or Ireland.
The casting call reads: ‘We are committed to inclusive, diverse casting.
‘For every role, please submit qualified performers, without regard to ethnicity, sex, disability, race, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other basis protected by law unless otherwise specifically indicated.’
The application requires actors to submit two short self-tapes – one consisting of a short poem or story of your choosing, but nothing from Harry Potter.
Secondly, children need to prepare a video talking about themselves, including their date of birth, height and where they live, as well as describing any family member, friend or pet that you are particularly close to.
Actors are told to use their own accept in the tapes, with the first video being 30 seconds maximum, and the second being one minute maximum.
Rowling previously said the new series would exceed fans ‘expectations’, with producers at Warner Bros and HBO saying it will be a ‘faithful adaptation’.
Francesca Gardiner and Mark Mylod, who both worked on acclaimed drama Succession, will be executive producers for the show.
Reacting to the news back in June, executive producer Rowling wrote on X: ‘I’m truly thrilled to announce our director and writer, both of whom I interviewed as part of the production team.
‘Both have a genuine passion for Harry Potter, and having read Francesca’s pilot script and heard Mark’s vision, I’m certain the TV show will more than live up to expectations.’
The author has been outspoken on the topic of gender and in May this year said that women’s rights are facing ‘the greatest assault in my lifetime’ by trans activists and she regrets not speaking out ‘far sooner’.
She explained her belief in protecting women’s sex-based rights in an essay which features in The Women Who Wouldn’t Wheesht – a forthcoming book on Scotland’s battle for women’s rights.
And she said that had she not spoken out against activism she would have felt ‘ashamed for the rest of my days’.
‘I’d come to believe that the socio-political movement insisting ‘trans women are women’ was neither kind nor tolerant, but in fact profoundly misogynistic, regressive, dangerous in some of its objectives and nakedly authoritarian in its tactics,’ Rowling said, in an extract published in the Times.
She said she watched women campaign for their rights from the sidelines because ‘people around me, including some I love, were begging me not to speak’ – but said the guilt caused her ‘chronic pain’.
‘I believe that what is being done to troubled young people in the name of gender identity ideology is, indeed, a terrible medical scandal,’ Rowling said.
‘I believe we’re witnessing the greatest assault of my lifetime on the rights our foremothers thought they’d guaranteed for all women.
‘Ultimately, I spoke up because I’d have felt ashamed for the rest of my days if I hadn’t. If I feel any regret at all, it’s that I didn’t speak far sooner.’
In June she slammed Doctor who star David Tennant after he made a pro Trans speech at an LGBT awards ceremony in which he said trans critics were ‘whinging’.
After winning celebrity ally at the LGBT Awards for being one of ‘the community’s most fierce allies and supporters’, The Scottish actor was asked to relay a message to trans youth backstage.
During his interview the Timelord said trans youth should not feel unloved or not accepted as ‘most people in the world don’t really care’, later adding that those in opposition would ‘all go away soon’.
However Rowling has since criticised him, implying he had a lack of concern for women’s welfare suggesting the actor wanted ‘a lot of people to cease to exist’ following his comments.
And earlier this month she was caught up in another controversy after branding transgender Paralympic sprinter Valentina Petrillo a ‘proud cheat’ with ‘no shame’.
She decried the inclusion of the Italian athlete, 51, who is biologically male but identifies as a woman.
After Valentina qualified for the semi-finals of the visually impaired 400m in the Stade de France yesterday, Ms Rowling tweeted sarcastically: ‘Why all the anger about the inspirational Petrillo? ‘The cheat community has never had this kind of visibility!
Out and proud cheats like Petrillo prove the era of cheat-shaming is over. What a role model! I say we give Lance Armstrong his medals back and move on’.
When one critic claimed Petrillo was competing in Paris as a woman ‘on her own merit’, Ms Rowling replied: ‘Being a man is an advantage in sports that require speed and strength. We both know you know that, but you’ve chosen to pretend you don’t’.
She added: ‘I am the daughter of a mother with a disability. This is not an abstract talking point to me, it’s a red line’.
JK Rowling was also critical of Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, who competed in the women’s boxing and won gold at the Olympics despite having previously failed a gender eligibility test.
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