Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling has become a controversial figure over the past couple of years due to her outspoken opinions on the transgender community. While she hasn't said anything that's outright abusive or overtly offensive, many of her Tweets have been deemed transphobic, with the writer receiving death threats and finding herself a victim of "cancel culture."
With Rowling's popularity clearly waning, many Harry Potter cast members have spoken out against her, distancing themselves from the woman who dreamed up the characters they brought to life on screen.
Voldemort actor Ralph Fiennes recently came under fire for defending Rowling, but Helena Bonham Carter, who played Bellatrix Lestrange in the Warner Bros. franchise, has also now shared her support for the besieged writer. Talking to The Times (via SFFGazette.com), the actress dismissed the criticisms aimed at Rowling as "a load of bollocks."
"I think she has been hounded. It’s been taken to the extreme, the judgmentalism of people. She’s allowed her opinion, particularly if she’s suffered abuse," Carter said. "Everybody carries their own history of trauma and forms their opinions from that trauma, and you have to respect where people come from and their pain."
"You don’t all have to agree on everything - that would be insane and boring. She’s not meaning it aggressively, she’s just saying something out of her own experience," the actress continues. "Personally, I feel [my co-stars] should let her have her opinions, but I think they’re very aware of protecting their own fan base and their generation."
There's some truth to what Carter is saying here as it definitely felt like at least some of those statements against Rowling were issued in an effort to avoid any sort of similar online backlash. These days, earning the wrath of any community on social media can doom a career, but the likes of Fiennes and Carter are at a stage where they probably don't care!
What do you think about the Bellatrix Lestrange actress' thoughts on the situation? Let us know in the usual place.