People Are So Not Here For JK Rowling's Latest Discussion About Dumbledore's Sexuality
Sorry folks, if you see JK Rowling trending on your Twitter feeds today it's not because she's releasing an eighth Harry Potter book. In a recent interview, the world-famous author revealed a piece of information about Dumbledore's sexuality that, quite frankly, has many people on Twitter rolling their eyes. These tweets and memes about JK Rowling explaining Dumbledore's sexuality indicate that people are over the way the author talks about diversity and inclusivity in her books.
In a special interview on the Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald BluRay, which was released March 12, Rowling discussed the relationship between two characters in her books, Albus Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald. According to Complex, Rowling says, "Their relationship was incredibly intense. It was passionate, and it was a love relationship," she said, adding, "But as happens in any relationship, gay or straight or whatever label we want to put on it, one never knows really what the other person is feeling."
Rowling revealed that Dumbledore was gay during a Q&A with Harry Potter fans in 2007, so while the information about his sexuality isn't new, it's reigniting frustration in Harry Potter fans, especially queer Harry Potter fans, who feel she should have honestly represented his sexuality in the books — not just after the series came to a close. Elite Daily reached out to Rowling's representation for comment on the response to her interview, but did not hear back at the time of publication. Here are some tweets that capture fans' frustrations with the author's recent comments.
People seem to be frustrated at the lack of LGBTQ inclusivity in the actual books and movies in the wake of Rowling discussing character traits that aren't clearly expressed in the text or films.
Many people want proof that the movies and books ever tried to represent the current claims of Dumbledore's past.
Many people expressed their frustration in meme form, calling out Rowling for staying mum about Dumbledore's sexuality in the books and movies.
Dumbledore's sexuality isn't the only piece of information Rowling revealed after the series ended. In 2015, Rowling found herself at the center of controversy when casting for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, a play that took place in the Harry Potter universe. When Noma Dumezweni, a Black actress, was cast in the role of Hermione, many people pushed back criticizing her for lack of "consistency" between the movie and the play. Eventually, Rowling shared a tweet implying that Hermione could be a Black woman in the books, writing, "Canon: brown eyes, frizzy hair and very clever. White skin was never specified. Rowling loves black Hermione."
Though Dumezweni's casting in the role of Hermione in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child was important and positive for many people, fans took issue with Rowling's claim that Hermione may have been Black in the books all along. An article in The Independent called her attempt to diversify Hermione's character in the book as an "afterthought," noting that "the faith, race and sexuality of her characters has been shoe-horned in retroactively, and it can’t help but ring hollow." Elite Daily reached out to Rowling's representation for comment on the criticism, but did not hear back at the time of publication.
While it's undeniable that the Harry Potter books had a profound impact on an entire generation, it's also important to recognize that some of Rowling's comments relating to diversity and identity have rubbed some fans the wrong way, especially people who believe that including details about character identity in the books would have been more useful and powerful than highlighting them after the fact. Who knows? Maybe Rowling will take the response to heart and release a new Harry Potter book with a more straightforward take on the characters' sexuality.
