Harry Melling says transgender rights are a “very easy” issue following the backlash against Harry Potter author JK Rowling.
The 33-year-old actor, who rose to fame playing Dudley Dursley in the Wizarding World film series, says he can “only speak for himself” amid the furore surrounding JK’s comments about the transgender community, but says he supports the freedom for anyone to identify in any way they choose.
He told the Independent: “I can only speak for myself and what I feel is very simple for me, which is that transgender women are women and transgender men are men.
“Every single person has the right to decide who he is and to identify himself as he is.
“I don’t want to get involved in the debate where people point fingers and say ‘this is right, this is wrong’ because I don’t think I’m the right spokesperson for that. But I believe that everyone has the right to choose.”
Harry Potter author JK, 57, was defended by Ralph Fiennes last year for her transgender views.
The 59-year-old actor, who played Lord Voldemort in the film series based on the author’s book series, said he understood the “origin” of JK’s remarks on trans issues and described the abuse and death threats she faced following her comments as “disgusting”.
JK has been the victim of online attacks since 2020 after she lamented the loss of ties to biological women.
She criticized the mention of “people who menstruate” in an online article, tweeting: “‘People who menstruate’. I’m sure there was a word for these people at some point. Can anyone help me? Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?”
Among those who have since sharply criticized the author for her remarks are “Harry Potter” actors such as 33-year-old Daniel Radcliffe and 32-year-old Emma Watson, as well as 40-year-old Eddie Redmayne, who starred in her “Fantastic Beasts” films.
JK also recently got into a heated argument with singer Billy Bragg over transgender rights, accusing him of “using the Holocaust to attack feminists.”
She claimed that “bearded men”, including 65-year-old Billy and 59-year-old BBC talk show host Graham Norton, were defining what a woman was, rather than leaving that up to women.
