J.K. Rowling’s agent says red carpet protest at Harry Potter gala put others ‘at risk’
by The Washington Times AI News Desk · The Washington TimesJ.K. Rowling’s literary agent condemned a transgender rights protest that disrupted the red carpet at a London gala for “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” saying the demonstration endangered audience members, performers and theater staff.
Several protesters rushed the carpet outside the Palace Theatre on Thursday as guests arrived for a special performance, ITV reported. They wore masks and hats to hide their identities and lay on the carpet until security removed them. One wore a T-shirt reading “Rowling money kills.”
Neil Blair, Ms. Rowling’s agent, said in a statement to Variety that his side respects peaceful activism and the right to express differing views. Those rights, he said, must be exercised without “putting others at risk,” citing what happened outside the theater Thursday evening. He did not say in that statement how anyone was endangered.
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Mr. Blair added that the aim is to keep bringing the Harry Potter world to the fans who have embraced it, and that every fan deserves an atmosphere of respect and security at a live show.
A group calling itself the Guild of Angry Transsexuals told Variety it organized the protest. A participant identified only as Thea said the aim was to make attendees aware that their ticket purchases help fund Ms. Rowling’s media empire, which the group says in turn funds a legal campaign against transgender people and their rights.
The gala marked the debut of a reworked version of the play. The production, which opened in London in 2016, has been cut from two parts running more than five hours to a single performance of almost three hours, ITV reported. Guests included television presenters Vanessa Feltz, Angellica Bell and Richard Arnold and “The Chase” star Anne Hegerty.
Ms. Rowling, 61, has been a vocal critic of self-declared gender identity, a stance that has drawn accusations of transphobia, which she has denied. She has said she respects every trans person’s right to live in a way that feels authentic and comfortable to them, according to PinkNews.
The Palace Theatre has been a protest site before. In January, trans people drew hundreds of chalk messages outside the venue as audiences queued for a performance, PinkNews reported.
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