Daniel Radcliffe says his rift with JK Rowling over gender issues makes him feel “really sad”

Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe has addressed his rift with JK Rowling, saying it makes him feel “really sad”. 

The 34-year-old, who shot to fame in 2001 after landing the lead role in the fantasy Warner Bros franchise, was reflecting on his relationship with the author in an interview with the US publication The Atlantic.

Speaking to the magazine, Radcliffe said: “Obviously Harry Potter would not have happened without her, so nothing in my life would have probably happened the way it is without that person. 

“But that doesn’t mean that you owe the things you truly believe to someone else for your entire life.” 

The father-of-one added: “It makes me really sad, ultimately, because I do look at the person that I met, the times that we met, and the books that she wrote, and the world that she created, and all of that is to me so deeply empathic.” 

In recent years, Rowling, who lives in Edinburgh, has hit the headline for her views on gender issues, which are at odds with those shared by some of the Harry Potter film cast, including Radcliffe and Emma Watson.

Following the findings of the Cass Review last month which raised concerns about children taking puberty blockers, Rowling responded to a post on X, formerly Twitter, when a user implied that Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson would be “safe in the knowledge you will forgive them” were they to “apologise” to her.

She said: “Not safe, I’m afraid. Celebs who cosied up to a movement intent on eroding women’s hard-won rights and who used their platforms to cheer on the transitioning of minors can save their apologies for traumatised detransitioners and vulnerable women reliant on single-sex spaces.” 

In response to her comments, Radcliffe told The Atlantic: “I will continue to support the rights of all LGBTQ people, and have no further comment than that.”