Rupert Grint Calls Relationship with ‘Auntie’ J.K. Rowling ‘Tricky’ Following Transgender Controversy

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Rupert Grint has deemed his relationship with J.K. Rowling as “tricky” following the multiple controversial comments she made regarding the transgender community.

Grint addressed his relationship with the author in a recent interview with U.K.’s The Sunday Times, sharing that he still views her as family despite their opposing views.

“I liken J.K. Rowling to an auntie,” Grint said of Rowling. ”I don’t necessarily agree with everything my auntie says, but she’s still my auntie. It’s a tricky one.”

Grint was one of many stars of the Harry Potter franchise to speak out against Rowling’s remarks in 2020 after the author mocked a headline that used the phrase “people who menstruate.”

“I firmly stand with the trans community and echo the sentiments expressed by many of my peers. Trans women are women. Trans men are men. We should all be entitled to live with love and without judgment,” Grint said in a statement to The Times.

In a separate interview with Esquire, Grint explained why he spoke out against the author despite being “hugely grateful” for her.

“I am hugely grateful (for) everything that she’s done. I think that she’s extremely talented, and I mean, clearly, her works are genius,” he said. “But yeah, I think also you can have huge respect for someone and still disagree with things like that.”

“I think to stay silent would have spoke,” he added. “Sometimes, silence is even louder. I felt like I had to because I think it was important to.”

Grint’s most recent comment comes after Rowling was largely excluded from Harry Potter’s 20th-anniversary special, which aired on HBO Max this month. Despite creating the franchise, she only appeared on-screen in archival footage that lasted less than 30 seconds.