‘Harry Potter’ Director Chris Columbus Says He Doesn’t “Agree With” J.K. Rowling’s Anti-Trans Activism: “It’s a Sad Situation”

Harry Potter director Chris Columbus says he has not spoken to author J.K. Rowling “in years,” and doesn’t agree with her controversial anti-trans political agenda.

“I haven’t spoken to her in years,” Columbus told DECIDER in a recent in-person interview, while promoting his upcoming Netflix film, The Thursday Murder Club, coming to the streamer on Thursday.

When asked to comment on Rowling’s near-constant social media campaign attacking transgender people and trans rights, Columbus said, “I don’t agree with it. I can only say that.”

Columbus—known for hit films like The Goonies, Home Alone, and Mrs. Doubtfire—helmed the first two Potter films, 2001’s Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and 2002’s Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. (He also served as a producer on the third film, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.) He reportedly worked closely with Rowling on the film, as the author requested a significant amount of creative control. But now Columbus has joined the list of original Potter cast and crew who have distanced themselves from Rowling, following her recent years of her anti-trans tirades on the social media website X.

In the past week alone, Rowling has—unprompted—posted on X attacking British trans comedian Sam Nicoresti, trans author Tom Pashby, and professional boxer Imane Khelif, the last of whom was born female and was falsely accused of being transgender by Rowling and others. It’s nearly impossible to keep up with Rowling’s daily barrage of online bullying, let alone her political advocacy and financial support of groups that work to claw back rights for transgender people. Rowling is a producer on the Potter films, and an executive producer on the upcoming Harry Potter HBO series. Many trans rights groups and former fans have called for a boycott of the series.

When asked by Decider if he had a message for trans folks who once loved the Harry Potter movies and now feel conflicted about them, Columbus replied, “That’s tough to say, except that you hope that the movies, the movies and the books, are separate from that. Sometimes you have to separate the artist from the material, and that’s difficult. It’s difficult for me, as a fan. It’s very difficult for me.”

Columbus went on to say he empathizes with fans who feel disappointed by Rowling’s political turn.

“So many filmmakers that I’ve loved over the years, have disappointed me as human beings,” Columbus said. “So many artists have disappointed me as human beings. It’s sad. It’s a sad situation.”

Harry Potter stars Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson have also both publicly denounced Rowling’s anti-trans agenda.

“It’s clear that we need to do more to support transgender and nonbinary people, not invalidate their identities,” Radcliffe said in 2020, in response to Rowling’s long-winded essay about her views.

Not long after, Watson posted her own X statement, writing, “Trans people are who they say they are and deserve to live their lives without being constantly questioned or told they aren’t who they say they are.”