EXCLUSIVE: J.K. Rowling's Feud With 'Harry Potter' Cast Over Her Anti-Trans Views Left HBO Execs 'Caught in the Middle' Ahead of Reboot Series
J.K. Rowling has been outspoken with her anti-trans views.
July 30 2026, Updated 3:40 p.m. ET
J.K. Rowling's feuds once put HBO executives between a rock and a hard place ahead of the upcoming Harry Potter reboot series, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The highly controversial author, 61, specifically sparked concerns last year after going on a public tirade against one of the cast members from the original movies who previously clashed with her over her anti-trans views, according to a source.
Inside J.K. Rowling and Emma Watson's Rift
J.K. Rowling hit back at Emma Watson in 2025.
Emma Watson – who played Hermione Granger in the films – claimed it was her "deepest wish" that we can "keep loving people" despite not sharing the "same opinion" with them.
In response, Rowling went on a lengthy rant on social media, accusing Watson, 36, of being "ignorant" and having "never experienced adult life uncushioned by wealth and fame."
She further insinuated that the former child actress' support of trans rights could have been a product of her privilege.
"She'll never need a homeless shelter. She's never going to be placed on a mixed s-- public hospital ward. I'd be astounded if she's been in a high street changing room since childhood. Her 'public bathroom' is single occupancy and comes with a security man standing guard outside the door," Rowling claimed.
Original 'Harry Potter' cast members have distanced themselves from J.K. Rowling.
"I wasn't a multimillionaire at fourteen. I lived in poverty while writing the book that made Emma famous," she continued. "I therefore understand from my own life experience what the trashing of women's rights in which Emma has so enthusiastically participated means to women and girls without her privileges."
"The greatest irony here is that, had Emma not decided in her most recent interview to declare that she loves and treasures me – a change of tack I suspect she's adopted because she's noticed full-throated condemnation of me is no longer quite as fashionable as it was – I might never have been this honest," she added.
"Emma is rightly free to disagree with me and indeed to discuss her feelings about me in public - but I have the same right, and I've finally decided to exercise it."
HBO Max is set to release a new 'Harry Potter' series in December.
Ahead of HBO Max's new Harry Potter series, which is set to premiere in December, higher-ups at the network were left concerned, a source claimed.
"Publicly fighting with Emma looks terrible," the source explained. "The execs are caught in the middle here, and unhappily so."
'Harry Potter' Cast Voices Support for Transgender Community
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Daniel Radcliffe spoke out against J.K. Rowling's stance on transwomen.
Over the years, Rowling appears to have alienated herself from certain members of the original Harry Potter cast due to her controversial stances.
Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint have publicly expressed their support for the transgender community and distanced themselves from Rowling.
Back in 2020, Radcliffe, 37, released a statement declaring that "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," he said, per The Trevor Project.
In an interview with The London Times, Grint, 37, also likened their relationship to an aunt and her nephew who have very differing beliefs
"I don’t necessarily agree with everything my auntie says, but she’s still my auntie," he shared. "It’s a tricky one."
