Harry Potter fans are currently dragging OG Draco Malfoy actor, Tom Felton, for his response to J.K. Rowling‘s anti-trans comments.
During the 78th Tony Awards red carpet, Felton was asked if the author’s political views and anti-trans stance impacted him or his work with the Harry Potter world.
In response, Felton admitted that he was “not really that attuned to it” and that he’s “not seen anything bring the world together more than Potter”.
“No, I can’t say it does,” Felton told Variety.
“I’m not really that attuned to it. The only thing I always remind myself that I’ve been lucky enough to travel the world — here I am in New York — and I have not seen anything bring the world together more than Potter. And she’s responsible for that, so I’m incredibly grateful.”
Tom Felton says the controversy around J.K. Rowling’s political views doesn’t impact him: “I’m not really that attuned to it…I have not seen anything bring the world together more than Potter. She’s responsible for that, so I’m incredibly grateful.” #TonyAwards pic.twitter.com/T7KSMNbFds
— Variety (@Variety) June 8, 2025
Immediately after the interview was shared on social media, Harry Potter fans and trans activists expressed their disappointment with Felton’s response.
“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. Don’t be Tom Felton,” X user @lizziethat wrote alongside a retweet of the video.
Another user simply labelled Felton as a “fucking loser” for his response.
“Sucks to see Tom Felton be so blind to his own privilege. HP meant a lot to me, but shit can change and she’s a vile human being and has tainted what her series meant to so many people,” another wrote.
Felton’s polarising response comes days after it was announced that he would be returning to the Harry Potter universe as Draco Malfoy for the Broadway play, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.
At the time of writing, neither Felton nor Rowling have responded to the scathing backlash.
For folks who are not in the know about J.K. Rowling’s incredibly controversial political views, the Harry Potter author has been extremely vocal about her anti-trans stance since 2020 and has been criticised by activists and celebrities, like Pedro Pascal and the OG golden trio of the Harry Potter films.
In May, the author called out “back-stabbing colleagues” for signing an open letter in support of trans rights in the UK after a Supreme Court ruling officially defined women as based on biological sex.
Some of the celebrities who signed in support of trans rights included Fantastic Beasts‘ Eddie Redmayne, Cho Chang actor Katie Leung and incoming Severus Snape Paapa Essiedu.
Image source: Getty Images
