JK Rowling row: Rupert Grint joins Harry Potter stars Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson in support of trans community

Grint told fans he “stands with the trans community” following backlash to an essay written by the Harry Potter author.

Rupert Grint, star of the Harry Potter film franchise, has come out in support of trans rights.

The 31-year-old actor, who played Ron Weasley in the multi-billion dollar film series, spoke out after the Harry Potter author, JK Rowling, published a personal essay that claimed trans rights endangered other women.

Grint joined fellow cast members Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson in messages of solidarity with the trans community.

In a statement given to The Times, he said: I firmly stand with the trans community and echo the sentiments expressed by many of my peers.

“Trans women are women. Trans men are men.

‘We should all be entitled to live with love and without judgment,” he finished.

Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson

His comments follow those of Emma Watson, who wrote on social media: “Trans people are who they say they are and deserve to live their lives without being constantly questioned or told they aren’t who they say they are.”

Earlier this week Daniel Radcliffe, who played the title role in the film adaptations of Rowling’s books, wrote a statement on the website of the LGBT+ suicide prevention charity, The Trevor Project.

“As someone who has been honored to work with and continues to contribute to The Trevor Project for the last decade, and just as a human being, I feel compelled to say something at this moment,” he wrote.

“Transgender women are women. Any statement to the contrary erases the identity and dignity of transgender people and goes against all advice given by professional health care associations who have far more expertise on this subject matter than either Jo or I.

“According to The Trevor Project,” he continued, “78 per cent of transgender and nonbinary youth reported being the subject of discrimination due to their gender identity.

“It’s clear that we need to do more to support transgender and nonbinary people, not invalidate their identities, and not cause further harm.”

What did JK Rowling write?

In a lengthy essay posted on social media, JK Rowling, who has repeatedly denied being transphobic, insisted that “sex is real, and has lived consequences.”

Among the revelations in her essay, Ms Rowling wrote that she is a survivor of domestic abuse and sexual assault.

But while she insisted that she wanted trans women, who are known to suffer very high rates of sexual violence and abuse, to be safe, she also claimed that proposed changes to gender recognition laws would endanger cisgendered women by allowing “all men to come in” to female-only spaces.

Britain is currently debating whether to change the Gender Recognition Act to allow transgender people to change their legal gender more easily.

But despite Rowling’s claims, the proposed changes do not impact on trans people’s ability to use the bathrooms or changing rooms of their choice - something which is already protected by existing anti-discrimination laws.

Several studies have also shown that allowing trans people to use the bathroom or changing room of their choice does not lead to an increase in sexual or physical assaults.

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