The inauguration of a flagship Harry Potter A store on London’s Oxford Street was disrupted by transgender rights protesters.
A group gathered outside the building – officially the UK’s largest Harry Potter store, spanning 21,000 square feet and two floors in The Ribbon development – on Wednesday with signs reading “protect trans lives” and “stop funding trans erasure”. According to British media The standardThey shouted chants through a megaphone and told those entering the huge store: “You shouldn’t read Harry Potter to your children and then bring them to this store.
Protesters also drew the trans flag and statements such as “Buy another author” and “Harry Potter “is not the only children’s book” in chalk on the sidewalk out front. The police were quickly called and stationed outside.
Among the movie stars celebrating the store’s opening in person were Draco Malfoy actor Tom Felton and Warwick Davis, who is set to reprise his role as Professor Filius Flitwick in the upcoming TV series adaptation of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone on HBO.
Franchise author JK Rowling, a staunch defender of anti-trans policies in Britain, is regularly criticized for her transphobia. She has often been publicly criticized for her politics and the creation of the JK Rowling Women’s Fund, a legal fund for people promoting anti-transgender views across the country.
His team declined to comment when contacted by The Hollywood Reporter Wednesday, while a store spokesperson told us, “(The store) is excited to open its doors and welcome hundreds of fans. We support everyone’s right to peacefully express their personal views and look forward to a day full of magic.”
The controversy was renewed by the television series, with stars John Lithgow (as Albus Dumbledore), Nick Frost (Rubeus Hagrid) and Bel Powley (Petunia Dursley) among the cast distancing themselves from Rowling’s views. She is an executive producer of the series.
“I find it ironic and somewhat inexplicable that Rowling expressed such views,” Lithgow said earlier this year. “I’ve heard of them and never met her. She’s not involved in this production at all. People who rehabilitate Harry Potter and making it into an eight-year television series is remarkable. … These are people I really want to work with.
Powley said in August: “I strongly disagree with JK Rowling’s views on gender. I believe the trans community deserves safety, dignity, respect and full acceptance,” while Frost said last year: “(Rowling) allowed her opinion and I allowed mine, they just don’t align one way or the other.”
The protest takes place just days before the unveiling ceremony on Oxford Street. Harry Potter The Christmas lights, timed to coincide with the launch of the TV series, are set to transform the city’s most iconic shopping destination into “one of the world’s most loved stories, bringing a wealth of Potter– inspired celebrations and attractions for shoppers, commuters, international visitors and fans throughout the holiday season.
More than 11,000 people have signed a petition calling on London Mayor Sadiq Khan to “end transphobia” and remove the Potter-themed exhibition. “Sadiq Khan calls himself an ally of the trans community, declaring that trans rights are human rights and that London will remain a safe and welcoming space for trans people,” the Good Law Project organizers wrote. “So why is he allowing one of the most famous anti-trans people in the world to take over Oxford Street?
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