Ralph Fiennes, who played Lord Voldemort in four of the Harry Potter films, has voiced his support for J.K. Rowling in an interview with The Telegraph published on Wednesday. “I can’t understand the vitriol directed at her,” Fiennes said. “I can understand the heat of an argument, but I find this age of accusation and the need to condemn irrational. I find the level of hatred that people express about views that differ from theirs, and the violence of language towards others, disturbing.” Fiennes’s response to the controversy stands in contrast to the reactions of his costars from the Harry Potter films, including Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint, who have all voiced support for the transgender community in the wake of Rowling’s comments. Back in June, Rowling published a a 3,670-word blog post explaining her stance on transgender issues, claiming, among other things, that the inclusion of trans women in women’s bathrooms is a threat to “natal girls and women.” On Twitter, she has also called the use of hormones and gender-confirmation surgery “a new kind of conversion therapy.”
