Andrew Garfield indirectly calls out JK Rowling for supporting “inhumane legislation”
Andrew Garfield has hit out at Harry Potter novelist and vocal transgender critic, JK Rowling, for supporting “inhumane legislation”.
Garfield admitted on the radio show, My Life in Movies, that he had watched the Harry Potter movies for the first time, but he had complicated opinions on their place in culture.
The Spider-Man actor began, “I hadn’t watched the Harry Potters until recently … and [Daniel Radcliffe is] really good in those Harry Potter movies. Those Harry Potter movies were really good.”
However, more recently, fans have been distancing themselves from the wizarding world due to Rowling’s views on the transgender community, which have become more extreme over the last few years.
Garfield is aware of this and confessed on the podcast, “I know it’s like controversial. And like, we shouldn’t be — you know — putting money in the pocket of inhumane legislation right now through she that shall remain nameless.”
However, in some regard, Garfield has noted that the art is able to speak for itself: “But the soul and the spirit of a lot of the essence of the themes of those films, and the kids are so good.”
Garfield is most likely referring to Rowling’s support of, and financial donations to, the campaign group For Women Scotland, whose legal challenge over the definition of “woman” ultimately led to a 2025 Supreme Court ruling that a woman must be born female at birth.
On March 26th, the writer also used her X platform to celebrate the International Olympic Committee’s decision to ban transgender women from competing in women’s events. “Today’s ruling by the IOC means a welcome return to fair sport for women and girls,” she wrote.
The Harry Potter universe is set to enjoy an entirely new lease on life after HBO recently released a trailer for its upcoming television series. Rowling, who stated recently that she worked closely on the project, shared online that the project “is going to be incredible. I’m so happy with it.”
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