In a shocking display of backbone that we rarely see in Hollywood these days, veteran actor John Lithgow is standing up to the radical transgender mob. This is a big deal in an industry where going against the woke narrative usually means career suicide.
Lithgow, set to play Dumbledore in HBO's upcoming Harry Potter series, had the audacity to do something that is forbidden in leftist circles these days: he refused to denounce J.K. Rowling. When confronted about the "controversy" surrounding his acceptance of the role, Lithgow was taken aback.
Speaking to a reporter from The Times (UK), he showed her a text from a friend linking to an article accusing him of aligning with “anti-trans” views by joining a Harry Potter-related project tied to J.K. Rowling. The article and countless Instagram comments equate working with Rowling to wearing a Ku Klux Klan hood. Lithgow says he hadn’t anticipated this backlash when he accepted the role, which he anticipates being his last major role due to the eight-year commitment. His only initial worry was whether fans would accept an American playing the iconic character.
But before it was even announced that he had the role he received a text from “a very good friend who is the mother of a trans child, and that was the canary in the coalmine.”
Lithgow has played trans and gay characters in the past, but his eyes widen with bemusement at the rage Rowling inspires. “I thought, why is this a factor at all? I wonder how JK Rowling has absorbed it. I suppose at a certain point I’ll meet her and I’m curious to talk to her.” So the criticism didn’t put him off? “Oh, heavens no.”
But here's where it gets really interesting. Lithgow received one of those predictable "open letters" demanding he abandon the project. You know the type: those virtue-signaling manifestos that have become the weapon of choice for the perpetually offended. His response? He wondered why this was even a factor at all. Imagine that — actually questioning the moral panic instead of immediately groveling for forgiveness!
Related: J.K. Rowling Is Right: There Are No Trans Kids
Lithgow may be a poor casting decision for the role of Dumbledore, which is a whole other topic I’m not going to get into, but at least he’s not caving to the transgender cult.
Rowling's great crime was daring to suggest that biological women deserve protected spaces and that gender isn't just a feeling. For this supposedly horrific stance, the same people who claim to champion tolerance have called for burning her books and boycotting anything associated with her name, and have even issued death threats against her.
The hypocrisy is absolutely stunning. Lithgow himself pointed out that nobody complained when he took on the role of Roald Dahl, an author known for actual antisemitic comments. I guess that antisemitism is fashionable in the Democratic Party today. But defend women's rights? Now that's apparently beyond the pale in 2025.
Contrary to the claims of the radical gender ideologues, HBO is standing firm. It's keeping Rowling as executive producer and had the courage to state that she "has a right to express her personal views." In today's climate of cancel culture, that's practically revolutionary.
The real question is: how many more Hollywood professionals are secretly sick of this manufactured outrage but are too afraid to speak up? Perhaps it's time for more of them to follow Lithgow's lead and just say no to the mob.
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