Tom Felton slammed for defending playing Draco again in spite of J.K. Rowling’s transphobia

9 June 2025, 17:38

By Sam Prance

"I'm not really that attuned to it..."

Tom Felton is coming under fire for his remarks about J.K. Rowling's transphobia after signing on to play Draco again.

Last week (Jun 5), Tom Felton shocked Harry Potter fans after announcing that he would be playing the part of Draco Malfoy again in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on Broadway. Tom will be playing the adult version of his character for 19 weeks starting in November. This is Tom's first time playing Draco since Deathly Hallows - Part 2 in 2011.

Tom's decision to come back to the Harry Potter universe has sparked criticism due to author J.K. Rowling's ongoing transphobia. Now, Tom has addressed the backlash in a new interview but he's being called out for his comments.

• Read more: Daniel Radcliffe says it was "important" to speak out against J.K. Rowling's transphobia
• Read more: Bridgerton's Nicola Coughlan slams new Harry Potter series

Watch the Harry Potter - Return To Hogwarts trailer

Appearing on the red carpet at the Tony Awards (Jun 8), Tom spoke to Variety about his excitement to play Draco on stage. He said: "The most exciting part is to do it live. It took nine months more or less,to shoot a film, and this is all compact. This is all reimagined into a very loving, new type of story. And I get to be a dad, which is really fun.”

When asked if J.K.'s views "impact" his work, Tom said: "I can't say it does. I'm not really that attuned to it. The only thing I always remind myself is I've been lucky enought to travel the world - here I am in New York. I have not seen anything bring the world together more than Potter. She's responsible for that, so I'm incredibly grateful."

Unsurprisingly, people were disappointed to see Tom praise J.K. at a time when her transphobia is having real world consequences on the rights of trans people. A person tweeted: "this is what privilege looks like, and we shouldn't ignore how much harm looking the other way because things don't affect us directly does."

Another wrote: ""bring the world together" as she's actively trying to make the lives of trans people, in particular trans women, a lot harder and harsher."

In contrast to Tom, his former cast-mates Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint have all spoken out against J.K.'s comments and spoken out in support of trans people.

As it stands, Tom is yet to speak further on his comments. We'll update you if and when he does.

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