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John Lithgow Says He Was Surprised by Backlash Over Joining ‘Harry Potter’ Series
(www.hollywoodreporter.com)
this post was submitted on 28 Apr 2025
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Keeping Rowling in as an exec producer (paid role) is hella bold. HBO clearly don't let external factors stop them from hiring a talented personnel, which is admirable, but a LOT of people will be mad about this. If ratings matter to them financially, they might regret this decision. Hell, Hogwarts Legacy got a lot of angry folk rejecting its existence (looking at you, r/GirlGamers) despite Rowling getting no royalties from it (Warner Bros. paid her upfront so boycotting only hurt the amazing devs) and the devs writing in a transwoman as a supporting character. If people can lynch the game, people will definitely lynch the series.
The game wasn't lynched though, it sold phenomenally well despite the commentary. There aren't enough people paying attention to her statements to be in a position to make a conscious choice about her one way or the other. Most people just see harry potter and go "cool, new harry potter thing, I liked that as a kid/like it now, let's give it a shot". If it does get brought up in conversation I still find people are surprised when I say I don't buy or participate in harry potter stuff because they genuinely don't know, or think its massively overblown (coverage of her statements, not necessarily the content of them). We're in a corner of a tiny pocket of the internet, even on Reddit.
TLDR This will make HBO tonnes of money from people who don't care or don't know about Rowling's obsession with trans people, just like every other HP side project.
You have no idea the amount of queers I know that still participate in harry potter bullshit because "it was their childhood" and "she's already rich so what's it matter?"
MFs hide behind their nostalgia and pretend they're still fucking children while paying money to someone advocating for their fucking genocide.
copium, they are probably like the fanfiction type of fans, superparasocial people that live and breathe harry potter. i know one shows where the fans were so obssesed with thier fictions in thier headsa bout the lgbtq+ fantasies of the "straight characthers" they made death threats against some recurring actors and scared them away from the show.
I was referencing people I know. They're normal fans that have a bit of merch and hide behind the "it's my childhood" defense. Not terribly parasocial about it, but they're furries. I think it's more just the "God given American right" to believe that you're in a protected, soft little bubble and none of your actions have consequences.