Nicola Coughlan, the ‘Bridgerton’ star, bashed the writer of the ‘Harry Potter’ series, J. K. Rowling, after she shared a celebratory post about the UK Supreme Court’s ruling on what defines as a ‘woman.’ Nicola criticised the author for her self-congratulatory post, where she posed with a cigar and a drink.
What was the ruling of the UK Supreme Court?
The Supreme Court ruled that the terms ‘woman’ and ‘sex’ referred to biological gender assigned at birth, meaning that transgender women were no longer considered as women. This decision automatically excludes the community from using single-sex spaces like washrooms, changing rooms, sports teams, and hospital wards, in addition to excluding the right to pursue equal pay claims.
What did Nicola Coughlan say?
J.K. Rowling has been critising the transgender community, and the celebratory post served as a disappointment for her fans, including Nicola who vowed not to touch the upcoming Harry Potter series even with a ten-foot pole. She shared an Instagram story of an article titled ‘This Is a New Low for J.K. Rowling,’ and wrote “Keep your new Harry Potter lads. wouldn’t touch [the series] with a ten-foot pole.”
Furthermore, the ‘Bridgerton’ star posted a video along with launching a fund raising campaign to support the transgender community with the organisation ‘Not A Phase.’ They have raised more than €100,000 with the help of 7,757 members who donated the generous amount.
“To see an already marginalised community being further attacked and attacked in law is really stomach-churning and disgusting, and to see people celebrate it is more stomach-churning and disgusting,” she said in the video.
“If you are a cisgender person who is an ally of a trans person, I think now is the time to just speak up and make your voice heard, and let your trans, nonbinary friends and just the community at large know that you’re there for them and will keep fighting for them, “she further added.
‘Harry Potter’ stars criticised the author
The stars starring the famous ‘Harry Potter’ film series, Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint, have previously voiced their support for the community. Radcliffe even criticised Rowling for her stances, stating, “Really sad, ultimately, because I do look at the person that I met, the times that we met, and the books that she wrote and the world that she created, and all of that is to me so deeply empathic. Obviously, ‘Harry Potter’ would not have happened without her, so nothing in my life would have probably happened the way it is without that person. But that doesn’t mean that you owe the things you truly believe to someone else for your entire life,” in a 2023 interview with The Atlantic.
