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Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling won't (or can't) fire Severus Snape actor Paapa Essiedu for his public support for trans rights

Essiedu joins fellow Harry Potter actors Emma Watson and Eddie Redmayne in expressing support for trans people following the recent U.K. Supreme Court ruling that seemingly erased their current gender.

Paapa Essiedu In I May Destroy You — Image credit: Various Artists Limited

News by Trent Cannon, Senior Contributing writer

Published on Tue May 06 2025

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As the news surrounding HBO’s upcoming Harry Potter TV show keeps hitting, the line between J.K. Rowling’s role as creator and executive producer and her role as one of the most public proponents of anti-trans legislation continues to blur. After Paapa Essiedu, who has been cast as Severus Snape in the show, was among those who have publicly condemned the U.K. Supreme Court ruling that trans women aren’t women, Rowling has claimed she won’t – and, importantly, can’t – fire the actor.

We’re sure that the producers of Harry Potter would love to talk about something other than how J.K. Rowling feels about trans people, but the topic has become intrinsically entwined with the author in recent years. Just a week after John Lithgow, who has been cast as Dumbledor in the show, claimed to be surprised by the backlash he received from the casting, there was speculation that Rowling would seek to fire Essiedu from the role of Snape after he signed an open letter expressing support for trans people.

In classic “I’m not mad and don’t write in the paper that I was mad” fashion, Rowling posted on social media that she didn’t have the power to fire Essiedu, nor would she if she did. This is somewhat at odds with her other recent post on social media where she took aim at “back-stabbing colleagues ever ready to report wrongthink.” In an apparent swipe at Harry Potter actors like Emma Watson and Eddie Redmayne who have publicly expressed dismay at Rowling’s weird fixation and apparent hatred of trans people, she wrote, “I wonder if they ever ask themselves how they got here, and I wonder whether any of them will ever feel shame.”

In light of that kind of passive-aggressive swipe, it is understandable that people would think that Paapa Essiedu’s job would be in danger. Whether Rowling officially has the power to fire an actor for disagreeing with her or if she could just force someone else to make the decision, she obviously exerts a lot of influence over the Harry Potter TV show and her extremist views on gender will continue to be an issue for HBO to handle as the series goes into production. So much of an issue, in fact, that an HBO executive has already had to respond that the show will not be "infused" by Rowling's transphobic views in a recent interview, going on to say that such transphobia was "pretty clear[ly...] her personal, political views."

The Harry Potter series is expected to begin production this year for a 2026 debut.

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