Tom Felton has found himself in hot water over his recent remarks for not being “attuned” to the controversy surrounding J.K. Rowling. Rowling, the famed author of the Harry Potter franchise, has drawn criticism from fans for her comments and stance on transgenders. Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint who play Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley in the film adaptation have also distanced themselves from the author.
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Recently, Felton, who played mean boy Draco Malfoy in the films, had been cast as the older Malfoy in the stage adaptation of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. When the actor, who made an appearance at the 78th Tony Awards, was asked by Variety if the controversy surrounding Rowling impacted him, Felton said this: “No, I can’t say it does. I’m not really that attuned to it. The only thing I always remind myself is that I have been lucky enough to travel the world and I have never seen anything bring the world together more than Potter and she is responsible for that so I am incredibly grateful.”
His reply sparked heated response from fans of the beloved franchise, one user writing on X (formerly Twitter), “What would a privileged straight white cis-male know about the oppression faced by my trans colleagues,” while another replied, roughly quoting 2008 action flick The Dark Knight, “One day, you'll live long enough to see the villain become the good guy, and the good guy becomes the villain.”
Tom felton is a coward and loser.
— Asmo || COMMS OPEN (2/3)(2/2) (@AsmoTheDemon) June 9, 2025
It doesn’t make them ungrateful. It doesn’t mean they’re biting the hand that feeds them. They’re allowed to disagree with her - isn’t disagreement ok anymore?
— Shilpa 🇸🇪 🇫🇷 🇨🇭 (@bosdovja92) June 9, 2025
Tom Felton is also within his rights to express himself too.
Honestly just leave them all alone, they’re not kids.
The controversy surrounding Rowling began in 2019 when the author defended Maya Forstater, a gender-critical activist, who was fired after she made anti-trans statements. Rowling’s later tweets stand to affirm her viewpoint that there are only two genders. Rowling has denied being transphobic and said that “transgender people need and deserve protection” but believes it is unsafe to allow "any man who believes or feels he's a woman" into bathrooms or changing rooms.
