Latest in J.K. Rowling

Warner Bros' Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore is releasing ahead of domestic in 22 international box office markets this weekend, beginning in Holland and Belgium on Wednesday and including the UK, Australia, Germany, Japan, Spain and China through Friday. The latter, unfortunately, is not expected to serve…

And so to Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, the third episode in the five-part blockbuster that is J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter prequel series. For a start, that colon in the title shouldn't be there. Yes, there is a menagerie of beasts here and they are, as it says on the tin, truly fantastic. But they…

J.K. Rowling answered Russian President Vladimir Putin Friday for his linking her cancellation for anti-transgender comments with Russia’s sanctions. The Harry Potter series author used Twitter to tell Putin that his analysis wasn’t welcome. “Critiques of Western cancel culture are possibly not best made by those…

Jason Isaacs, best known for his role as Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter films, addressed the controversy swirling around J.K. Rowling in an interview published today by The Telegraph regarding the author’s statements on the transgender community. In the past, Rowling has publicly stated that "sex is real and has…

(UPDATED with social media postings by Dear White People EP) A day before Dave Chappelle’s Untitled documentary is set to screen at the Hollywood Bowl and the comedian is expected onstage, his new Netflix special The Closer is generating a growing backlash over remarks about the trans and LGBTQ+ communities. “Gender…

UPDATE, with new start date The new, one-play version of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child will begin performances four days earlier than previously announced, with the start now set for Friday, Nov. 12, at Broadway’s Lyric Theatre. No reason for the move was detailed in the announcement today. Previous, June 28 A new…

Warner Bros. has appointed the studio’s Kids, Young Adult and Classics President Tom Ascheim to manage its lucrative Wizarding World and Harry Potter franchise. WarnerMedia Studios and Networks Group Chair, Ann Sarnoff, made it official today and Ascheim will report directly to her. He’ll add his oversight of the…

John Cleese, famous for outraging millions in his Monty Python roles, is at it again. In a tweetstorm Sunday, the 81-year-old comedian defended J.K. Rowling and questioned aspects of transgender rights. "Deep down, I want to be a Cambodian police woman. Is that allowed, or am I being unrealistic?" Cleese tweeted in…

During Saturday Night Live’s “Weekend Update” segment, Pete Davidson gave his two cents on J.K. Rowling’s transphobic comments. When Colin Jost asked what The King of Staten Island star thought of the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts author’s comments, Davidson said her comments were “very disappointing” and that he…

Author J.K. Rowling has returned a 2019 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights organization honor after the group’s president Kerry Kennedy condemned the Harry Potter writer’s tweets as “transphobic” and “deeply troubling.” In a lengthy, 600-word-plus statement posted yesterday on her website, Rowling denies the charge of…

J.K. Rowling and The Handmaid’s Tale scribe Margaret Atwood are among 150 writers, academics and activists to sign an open letter published by Harper’s bemoaning the “restriction of debate” in modern culture. Rowling, who has been at the center of a rancorous online debate about transgender rights in recent weeks, put…

Two big Harry Potter fan sites, unhappy over author J.K. Rowling’s views on transgender people, said today they will no longer provide links to her personal website, use photos of her, or write about her outside of her role in creating the fantasy world they love. The sites, Leaky Caldron and Mugglenet, said in a…