'Harry Potter' Star Evanna Lynch Speaks Up Again for J.K. Rowling

"Harry Potter" star Evanna Lynch revisited the ongoing controversy around remarks by author J.K. Rowling that have been seen as transphobic.

NME reported that the 31-year-old actor, who played Luna Lovegood in the movie adaptations of Rowling's "Harry Potter" novels, looked back on her previous comments in an interview with UK newspaper the Telegraph. (The Telegraph story is behind a paywall.)

NME recalled that in the wake of Rowling's comments, which prompted controversy in the summer of 2020, Lynch sent out a tweet of her own that read, "I think it's irresponsible to discuss such a delicate topic over Twitter through fragmented thoughts and I wish Jo wouldn't."

"That said, as a friend and admirer of Jo I can't forget what a generous and loving person she is," Lynch added.

The post generated such a storm of blowback that Lynch deleted her Twitter account, NME recalled.

In her new comments to the Telegraph, Lynch mulled, "I was very naive when I was dragged into that conversation," and admitted that at the time she "didn't even know there were two sides. I had a view of, like, good and bad."

"I do have compassion for both sides of the argument," Lynch went on to say. "I know what it was like to be a teenager who hated my body so much I wanted to crawl out of my skin, so I have great compassion for trans people and I don't want to add to their pain."

But, the actor added, "I do also think it's important that J.K. Rowling has been amplifying the voices of detransitioners," which is to say, people who have undertaken gender transition before subsequently transitioning back. (According to Wikipedia, "Detransition is more common in the earlier stages of transition, particularly before surgeries." The Wikipedia entry also notes that "Some people regret detransitioning and choose to retransition," and points out that "Some organizations with ties to conversion therapy have used detransition narratives to push anti-transgender agendas and legislation.")

"I just felt that her character has always been to advocate for the most vulnerable members of society," Lynch went on to say. "The problem is that there's a disagreement over who's the most vulnerable."

Rowling sparked the controversy in June of 2020 when she took exception to an op-ed that referred to "people who menstruate..."

In response, she posted a tart tweet: "I'm sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?"

New outrage followed the month after, when Rowling called gender affirmation treatments "a new kind of conversion therapy for young gay people."

That December, Rowling waded into the fracas once again when she told Good Housekeeping Magazine "Many women are concerned about the challenges to their fundamental rights posed by certain aspects of gender identity ideology."

Cast members from the "Harry Potter" films have publicly commented on the topic, with Daniel Radcliffe (who played the titled character) teaming up early on with anti-suicide group The Trevor Project to publish an open letter in support of transgender youth that was published on June 8, 2020.

Radcliffe stated unequivocally in the letter that "trans women are women" – the very point that transgender women have been making for years in the face of social and political hostility.

Co-stars Rupert Grint and Emma Watson have, similarly, spoken out against Rowling's comments.

Others have defended Rowling, saying that her freedom to express opinions – even unpopular ones – must be preserved. Such was the message that "Harry Potter" actor Ralph Fiennes seemingly sought to convey in 2021 when he told the Telegram, "I find the level of hatred people express about views that differ from theirs, and the violence of language towards others, disturbing."