Ralph Fiennes, the actor who portrayed evil wizard Voldemort in the Harry Potter franchise, has come out swinging, defending author JK Rowling over the abuse she’s endured for speaking out about gender identity and trans issues.
“JK Rowling has written these great books about empowerment, about young children finding themselves as human beings. It’s about how you become a better, stronger, more morally centred human being. The verbal abuse directed at her is disgusting, it’s appalling,” Fiennes told the New York Times.
“I mean, I can understand a viewpoint that might be angry at what she says about women. But it’s not some obscene, uber-right-wing fascist. It’s just a woman saying, ‘I’m a woman and I feel I’m a woman and I want to be able to say that I’m a woman.’ And I understand where she’s coming from. Even though I’m not a woman.”
