Ralph Fiennes, who played the villainous Voldemort in the popular Harry Potter series, has recently defended series creator J.K. Rowling — classifying the backlash that the renowned author continues to face as “irrational” and “disturbing.”
As revealed during an interview with The Telegraph, Fiennes stated, “I can’t understand the vitriol directed at her. I can understand the heat of an argument, but I find this age of accusation and the need to condemn irrational.”
“I find the level of hatred that people express about views that differ from theirs, and the violence of language towards others, disturbing,” the actor continued.
Fiennes also called out cancel culture, revealing that he gets “worried if it’s decided that certain classical plays are irrelevant,” adding that “I think often there’s a superficial reading — Restoration drama is ‘colonialist, hierarchical, quasi racist.'”
“But they’re just plays. You can turn them on their head. The danger is of labelling stuff. We need to have those voices that risk being offensive,” added Fiennes.
These texts are there – so pull the humanity out of them, pull out the stuff that’s relevant. If you’re going ‘it doesn’t tick these boxes’, you’re lowering the portcullis of judgement before you’ve even got into the room with it. I think that’s troubling,” the actor stated.
“We need to have those voices that risk being offensive. How sad if we sat on any expressive voice that could shake the scenery, that could get inside us and make us angry and turn us on. I would hate a world where the freedom of that kind of voice is stifled,” he concluded.
J.K. Rowling’s views on gender have been the cause of constant attacks on social media. Besides being a very talented writer, Rowling not bending the knee to the cancel culture mob is definitely worth commending.
Petty SJW snowflakes on social media aren’t the only ones that have attacked the Harry Potter creator. Some mainstream media journalists have also targeted J.K. Rowling because her opinions differ from their own.
Take the Daily Dot’s Anna Maria, for instance, who wondered why Rowling hadn’t been jumped yet. Wishing for someone to punch her in the face, the journalist’s tweet read: “I hope JK Rowling gets punched in the face today (: I hope her nose breaks and it gushes all over her clothes (: I hope her teeth get knocked out and she can’t find them (:”
Riveting.
When rumours of a live-action Harry Potter series produced by HBO Max and Warner Bros. started doing the rounds earlier this year, the cancel culture mob also attacked Rowling and called her a TERF; an acronym that literally translates to trans-exclusionary radical feminist.
Rowling herself is a feminist, and the constant attacks only go to show how narrow-minded the attackers are; attackers that keep proving Rowling isn’t being the radical one.
Even a TikTok trend saw former fans burning Harry Potter books to protest Rowling’s views on biological sex.
https://www.tiktok.com/@elmcdo/video/6872843151392967942?source=h5_m&is_copy_url=0&is_from_webapp=v3&sender_device=pc&sender_web_id=6921785531299137030
As if that wasn’t enough, it isn’t only social media users and journalists who have attempted to cancel J.K. Rowling.
Earlier this month, Twitter seemingly disabled likes on a tweet by Rowling in which she showed support for tax expert Maya Forstater, who was fired for expressing her opinion on transgenders.
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment was also quick to distance themselves from the renowned author, stating that “J.K. Rowling is not directly involved in the creation of the game[Hogwarts Legacy],” and revealed that the upcoming game “is not a new story from J.K. Rowling.”
Related: WB Games Clarifies J.K. Rowling’s Role in Upcoming Hogwarts Legacy RPG
After mainstream media outlets, social media platforms, and woke snowflakes have been attacking J.K. Rowling every chance they get, it is a breath of fresh air to see people like Ralph Fiennes defending her for the opinions she has expressed.
Fiennes hasn’t even revealed whether he agrees with Rowlings’ opinions or not, but he’ll likely face some backlash himself for defending her; let’s just hope that is not the case.