Somehow, in this current-year bizarro world we occupy, a harmless Young Adult story about a boy wizard has become a front line in the ongoing, but dying, culture wars. It is a common observation among culture watchers that “the woke is being put away” for various reasons, so the general noise is dying down. Harry Potter still remains, unbelievably, as some kind of nexus point.
The reason for this is the original author, JK Rowling, and her steadfast commitment to maintaining and protecting the concept of “woman” as a reality and not allowing trans activists into that space. She is also vocal on women’s rights, tackling subjects ranging from the girls attending school in Taliban controlled Afghanistan, to protecting young women from irreversible surgeries.
Anyone who follows the social media formerly known as Twitter, X, will know she refuses to give an inch in this particular fight and, as a result, riles up overexcited activist types simply by existing.
Her posts on X are often re-posted and admired for their cutting directness.
Inevitably, any online discussion about HBO’s big-budget Harry Potter TV series then attracts these debates. There is a small but vocal cohort online who are trying to mobilise a boycott of the show over author J.K. Rowling’s personal views on this subject.
HBO has, in their defence, come out swinging on this. They won’t play down their involvement with her as the author of the source material and an executive producer on the series.
When asked about her view, HBO Chairman and CEO Casey Bloys has given no quarter, saying:
“It’s pretty clear that those are her personal, political views. She’s entitled to them. Harry Potter is not secretly being infused with anything. If you want to debate her, you can go on Twitter.”
When not riling up internet activists on X, she has revealed that she has read some of the scripts for the upcoming show:
“I read the first two episodes of the forthcoming HBO Harry Potter series and they are SO, SO, SO GOOD!.”
A fan asked her if she did any of the writing herself on the scripts:
“No, but I’ve worked closely with the extremely talented writers.”
Harry Potter arrives on the screen in 2026.
