Harry Potter star Katie Leung responds to JK Rowling's transphobic comments

8 June 2020, 16:25

By Katie Louise Smith

Katie Leung showed support for the trans community following Rowling's comments.

This past weekend (June 7), Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling decided to use her platform to make controversial and hurtful statements about the transgender community. Again.

Sharing a link to an article, titled “Opinion: Creating a more equal post-COVID-19 world for people who menstruate,” that advocated for better menstrual health provisions for cis-women, non-binary people and trans men during the pandemic, Rowling commented: “‘People who menstruate’. I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?”

READ MORE: Halsey calls out JK Rowling over transphobic comments

As she continued to tweet, her comments caught immediate backlash, with Halsey, Jonathan Van Ness, Sarah Paulson and many many other fans chiming in to call her out. Another one of those people was Harry Potter actress Katie Leung.

Following Rowling's tweets, the conversation surrounding the racial stereotyping of Cho Chang was also reignited, with many users pointing out the problematic naming and treatment of the character.

Katie, who played Cho in the film series, then took to Twitter to make a clear statement, and bring the conversation back to Rowling's comments.

"So, you want my thoughts on Cho Chang?" Katie wrote. "Okay, here goes...(thread)"

Instead of sharing her thoughts on Cho Chang, Katie then shared a number of links for petitions and GoFundMe pages, as well as ending the thread with the hashtag #AsiansForBlackLives.

Katie's links included a GoFundMe for Black trans women in Atlanta, a petition calling for more protection for Black trans women in the UK, UK Black Pride's website and a link to a list of organisations that support Black trans people from Vice. You can find the links below.

Despite not directly addressing Rowling, fans have applauded Katie in their thousands for her tweets, and the message she sent by sharing the links, which have been since gone viral.

The Umbrella Academy actor Justin H. Min wrote: "katie really went avada kedavra on racism and transphobia," while others thanked her in the replies.

We love to see it.