Nearly 15 years after the end of the Harry Potter film series, Rupert Grint—now 38—returns to his signature role as Ron Weasley. His upcoming Broadway debut in the stage production “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” isn’t just a rush of nostalgia; it’s also sparking questions among queer fans about his stance toward the transphobic author J.K. Rowling.
Grint is set to take the stage starting February 2, 2027, at the Lyric Theatre in New York for a 17-week run. The play “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” picks up roughly two decades after the events of the seventh and final Potter novel. Following Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy), who exits the show in early January 2027, Grint becomes the second high-profile original-film star to join the Broadway production.
The British actor described the homecoming as a “full-circle moment”—the role has accompanied him since he was eleven, and it feels especially meaningful to portray Ron now at a life stage in which both characters are fathers.
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Rowling has become a trans-exclusionary activist in recent years
The return has stirred up some discontent among queer fans. After all, Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling has long been known in recent years for her transphobic outbursts. She had questioned the existence of trans people and disparaged trans women, for instance referring to them as “men” or “criminals.” She also publicly backed U.S. President Donald Trump because of his policies toward trans people. In addition, she accused the Left of trying to erase women’s and girls’ rights in the name of a trans-inclusive agenda (as reported by TheColu.mn).
On Instagram, queer fans lament that Grint would be betraying them with this engagement. “Trans rights are human rights and are worth far more than a paycheck,” wrote one user. Another noted, “Trans lives are worth more than Harry Potter.” A trans woman added, “Daniel Radcliffe would never let me down like this. Nostalgia and money should never trump human rights, unless you’re literally starving and need the role to survive.” Radcliffe had played the lead in the eight Harry Potter films.
Grint in 2020: “Trans women are women”
In fact, Grint—like Radcliffe—had previously stood with Rowling’s critics, opposing her stance as a trans-exclusionary activist. “Trans women are women. Trans men are men. We should all have the right to live in love and without judgment,” he told The Times in 2020. A year later, he explained to Esquire why he spoke out: “I believe silencing would have sent a message as well—a silence can speak louder than words. I felt I had to speak up because it mattered,” Grint said at the time. “I’m not an authority on this topic. It’s simply about humanity and about respecting people. That’s an important group to stand up for.”
In 2022 he described his relationship with Rowling to The Times as: “I compare J.K. Rowling to an aunt. I don’t necessarily agree with everything my aunt says, but she’s still my aunt. It’s a complicated thing.”
Rowling lashed out at all three leads of the Harry Potter films after they criticized her transphobia. In 2024 the author wrote on X that celebrities who align with a movement that aims to erode hard-won women’s rights should apologize to cisgender women.
