Paapa Essiedu, the actor who will portray Severus Snape in the upcoming TV reboot of Harry Potter, has signed an open letter calling for industry action on trans rights.
Essiedu was among hundreds of U.K. film and TV professionals to sign the letter, which expresses solidarity with trans and non-binary people just weeks after the controversial U.K. Supreme Court ruling that officially defined women as based on biological sex.
ICYMI, that disgraceful Supreme Court ruling, made on April 16, was celebrated by Harry Potter author and Supreme TERF J.K. Rowling, who shared an image of herself triumphantly smoking a cigar with the caption, “I love it when a plan comes together.”
For someone who conceived of fantasy lands and magic spells, Rowling can’t quite seem to grasp that trans women are, in fact, women.
Rightfully sticking it to her, however, Essiedu’s decision to sign the open letter goes directly against his producer, since Rowling is serving as an executive producer on the reboot series, which will land on HBO Max sometime next year.
The Snape actor was one of many U.K. stars to sign the letter, which calls on the country’s entertainment institutions — including BAFTA, BBC and Channel 4 — to commit to better protecting trans people in the wake of the ruling.
Also joining the cause was Babygirl’s Harris Dickinson, The Last of Us’ Bella Ramsey, and Bridgerton’s Nicola Coughlan, the latter of whom called out Rowling for her flaming transphobia earlier this month.
I love it when a plan comes together.#SupremeCourt #WomensRights pic.twitter.com/agOkWmhPgb
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) April 16, 2025
“Film and television are powerful tools for empathy and education, and we believe passionately in the ability of the screen to change hearts and minds,” the letter read.
“This is our opportunity to be on the right side of history.” Hear that, Rowling?
Essiedu is not the first Hogwarts alum to stand in support of the trans community, with the OG movie trio Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson also rebuking Rowling’s views over the years.
Essiedu is among the flurry of names who’ve already been cast in the reboot, which will span seven seasons with each focused on a respective book from the original series.
John Lithgow joined the cast as Albus Dumbledore, while Janet McTeer will portray Minerva McGonogall and Rubeus Hagrid will be played by Nick Frost.
Until the reboot arrives, I’m going to conjure up a spell that makes TERFS like Rowling shut the hell up.
