There is no ethical consumption of HBO’s Harry Potter series

In the coming years, you want HBO new Harry Potter series to become “Streaming event of the decadeBecause it adapts to everyone The original seven books of the franchise. The show could be a huge hit that captures the imagination of a new generation of fans who weren’t around for the first wave of Pottermania that intensified with the releases of each book and Warner Bros. Later film adaptations. And if this Harry Potter This is a success, and may give author JK Rowling a reason to consider writing more stories set in the magical world that turned her into a billionaire.

But it all depends on whether people will actually watch HBO shows Harry Potterwhich is executive produced by Rowling. In some cases, having a franchise creator closely involved in new versions of his works can be a good thing, but Rowling’s involvement in this show casts a shadow over it that there’s little HBO can do to counter it. Rowling has made it quite clear that she is thinking Attacking trans people through the legal system It is a worthwhile cause and a good use of her vast personal wealth. And as much Harry Potter Fans may be excited to see what HBO has in store, as there’s no way to watch this show without supporting Rowling’s bigotry and the structural violence she inflicts on a vulnerable minority.

For years, Rowling trafficked in the parks’ transphobia Under the guise of being a cisgender feminist. Last Thursday in a post praising the International Olympic Committee Preventing transgender women from competingRowling implicitly missed the mark 2024 boxing gold medalist Iman Khalif. The post was the latest example of Rowling using transphobic dog whistles to attack Khalif, prompting the athlete to… A criminal complaint was filed against Rowling last summer.

It has already happened to many people Obtained from Rowling’s online interactions With radical trans-exclusionary feminists (TERFs) which – which She may have transphobic views. But it was only in 2019 that she emerged as a TERF member while contemplating a precedent-setting legal battle in the UK. On Twitter, Rowling expressed her support for Maya Forstater, the British tax consultant whose contract with the Center for Global Development was not renewed in response to concerns about her tweets and retweets. Multiple posts mislead and deny the existence of transgender people. Forstater – self-identifiedActivist in gender issues– She filed a lawsuit against CGD and its Chairman Masood Ahmed alleging that its non-renewal was a violation of UK Equality Act 2010.

While the Equality Act Preventing discrimination based on “sex reassignment.”“Forstater claimed she had been unfairly persecuted because of her personal beliefs. A judge threw out the case, ruling that Forstater’s views were ‘inconsistent with the human dignity and fundamental rights of others.’ But Forstater was able to appeal, and in 2021, The Employment Appeals Court ruled in her favour.

It wasn’t Rowling’s tweet that led to Forstater ultimately receiving £106,400 ($141,683) in lost profits and serious damages in 2023. But Rowling’s willingness to publicly ally with TERF instigators was important because it was lending credibility to the TERF organization. A larger culture of transphobia Which has plagued the UK for decades. By supporting Forstater, Rowling was encouraging the audience to embrace their hateful beliefs and think of trans people as a threat to society. It was that kind of rhetoric Associated with a rise in hate crimes Directed to queer people. Rowling knows full well that her fame helps her amplify transphobic ideology in ways that people like Forstater couldn’t do on their own. Rowling also realizes that her wealth puts her in a prime position to advance the TERF (read: enforcing gender essentialism and erasing trans people from existence) agenda on a societal level.

And that’s exactly what Rowling was doing in 2024 When she donated £70,000 ($93,212) To For Women Scotland (FWS), an advocacy group that challenged Scotland’s Sex Representation Act 2018 at the 2018 General Assemblies. The Act’s definition of women included people with the “protected characteristic of gender reassignment”. FWS It won its initial judicial review in 2022Which considered that the definition of women was outside the scope of the Scottish Parliament. This was the decision Reversed in 2023In 2024, a revised version of the Scottish Gender Representation Act that used the UK’s 2010 Equality Act definition of women – which included trans women – was signed into law. In the same year, the FWS brought and lost another judicial review against the Scottish Gender Representation Amendment Act, challenging its use to define the British Equality Act 2010. While the FWS was unable to appeal this decision, the case reached the end The UK Supreme Court, which ruled The legal definition of a woman is based on the biological sex assigned at birth. To pay for this extensive legal battle, FWS turned to crowdsourcingRowling was only too happy to spend tens of thousands of dollars on their case.

The definition of the UK Supreme Court is itself problematic because… The biology of human sexuality is not binary. In addition to preventing transgender people from legally recognizing their gender identity, the ruling makes it difficult for them to pursue legal action over sex discrimination. Rowling celebrated the court’s decision Post a picture of herself With a very clear message: “I like it when a plan comes together.” The plan in this case was to help fund an anti-trans group’s campaign against trans people, which culminated in the passage of a law reducing the number of trans people. everyone Women living in the UK right down to the way their bodies are perceived when they are born.

Rowling has been transparent about her desire to continue helping people in their efforts to deprive transgender people of their dignity and human rights. That seems to be pretty much the point JK Rowling Women’s Box – An organization launched by Rowling in 2025 that claims to “fight to preserve the gender-based rights of women and girls in all aspects of life.” The fund provides Rowling’s financial support to cisgender women looking to file lawsuits. The Fund’s website does not mention gender as a concept, but it clearly points to the For Women Scotland cause as the kind of “victory” the Fund wants to see more of in the world.

Rowling has been wealthy enough to pour money into organizations like this for some time because she still owns the basic intellectual property rights to everyone. Harry Potter ownership. all Harry Potter book, film, Video game, Theater show ticket, Theme park boardwalkand the merchandise sold puts money in Rowling’s pocket, which she can use to continue her campaign against trans people. Due to the drug’s enduring popularity, Rowling, who is currently working, said With a value of about $1.2 billionwould likely do all of this even if HBO wasn’t producing a new series Harry Potter series. But since the network wants the show to run for at least ten years, Rowling will have more capital at her disposal to impose her reactionary views on others.

This obviously doesn’t matter to HBO’s executive leadership whose primary goals are to boost the value of the company’s stock while taking it home Huge salaries and Huge checkout packages Their own. But it’s something HBO subscribers will absolutely have to think about while Warner Bros Harry Potter hype machine ahead of the show’s premiere later this year. HBO doesn’t want you to think about how they exploit a known bigot and facilitate the spread of harmful and hateful messages that could put people in danger. Perhaps Rowling would prefer people not to take into account the fact that she exists Lots of Other Magic Academy series To become obsessed.