The 37-year-old actor is preparing to step back into the shoes of his Harry Potter character Draco Malfoy for his Broadway debut in Cursed Child.
In a red carpet interview at the 2025 Tony Awards, he not only brushed off the author’s transphobic sentiments but also said he is “grateful” to her.
- Tom Felton’s loyalty to J.K. Rowling landed him in hot water.
- He addressed Rowling’s anti-transgender sentiments during a red carpet interview at the 2025 Tony Awards.
- “This is a terrible response that makes him look both so privileged and also so clueless,” one commenter said about his remarks.
- The British actor is gearing up for his Broadway debut in ‘Cursed Child.’
Tom Felton struck a nerve with fans after sharing his take on J.K. Rowling’s anti-transgender views
Felton is gearing up to make his Broadway debut in the play Cursed Child, written by Jack Thorne.
The story unfolds nearly two decades after the end of Rowling’s seventh book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
Felton spoke about Rowling during the 2025 Tony Awards on Sunday, June 8
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During the award show on June 8, Felton chatted with Variety on the red carpet and was asked about whether the controversy around Rowling’s anti-transgender views affected him.
“No, I can’t say it does,” he responded. “I’m not really that attuned.”
“I’m incredibly grateful,” the British actor said about the author on the Tony Awards red carpet
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“The only thing I always remind myself is that I’ve been lucky enough to travel the world. Here I am in New York,” he went on to say.
The British actor expressed gratitude to the creator of the Hogwarts world.
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“I have not seen anything bring the world together more than Potter, and she’s responsible for that. So I’m incredibly grateful,” he added.
Fans were left sorely disappointed by his comments, calling it “repulsive” and “typical Slytherin” behavior, referring to the cunning, self-interested traits of the Hogwarts house that Draco Malfoy belongs to.
Felton is reprising his role as Draco Malfoy in Broadway’s Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
Image credits: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
“I’m not really attuned to [the global struggle for equality and justice],” read one comment on social media, while another wrote, “What a privileged straight white man take.”
“How extremely cishet of him,” said another.
“This is a terrible response that makes him look both so privileged and also so clueless,” another wrote.
Netizens had mixed reactions to the child star’s recent comments
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Some fans defended him, saying, “He said he doesn’t pay attention and instead focuses on his career. What’s wrong with that? He’s extremely humble and grateful for what he has.”
“Sounds like everything’s good for him. I think throwing some support to trans people would have balanced it,” said another.
“I wasn’t expecting Tom Felton to publicly disagree with J.K. Rowling, he very much wants to be part of The Wizarding World company so he can’t really oppose her,” read another comment.
Rowling has faced widespread backlash for her vocal transphobic sentiments in 2020. She has since doubled down on her views, despite widespread criticism from fans and former cast members.
Former cast members Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson have shown support for the transgender community since the controversy began
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Daniel Radcliffe, who played the lead role in all eight installments of the original Harry Potter film series, released an essay in 2020 for The Trevor Project to show his support for the transgender community.
He apologized for the “pain” caused to those who “feel that their experience of the books has been tarnished or diminished” by Rowling’s words.
“I am deeply sorry for the pain these comments have caused you. I really hope that you don’t entirely lose what was valuable in these stories to you,” he wrote.
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Emma Watson, who played Hermione Granger in the films, also released a statement at the time to show her support for the transgender community.
“Trans people are who they say they are and deserve to live their lives without being constantly questioned or told they aren’t who they say they are,” she said. “I want my trans followers to know that I and so many other people around the world see you, respect you and love you for who you are.”
Rowling suggested she would never forgive Radcliffe and Watson for their opposing views
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Rupert Grint—Ron Weasley in the films—joined the conversation in 2020 and said he firmly stands “with the trans community.”
“Trans women are women,” he added. “Trans men are men. We should all be entitled to live with love and without judgment.”
The author wouldn’t support “celebs who cozied up to a movement intent on eroding women’s hard-won rights,” she claimed
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Last year, Rowling appeared to say she wouldn’t accept an apology from the former cast members for their opposing views.
Her jibe came in response to a fan comment that said, “Just waiting for Dan and Emma to give you a very public apology … safe in the knowledge that you will forgive them.”
“Not safe, I’m afraid,” she responded, seemingly suggesting she wouldn’t forgive them.
“Celebs who cozied 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 traumatized detransitioners and vulnerable women reliant on single s*x spaces,” she added.
Felton said Radcliffe, who has experience on Broadway, has been “holding [his] hand” as he makes his own debut
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As he prepares for his Broadway debut, Felton said his “old school chum, Potter, Radcliffe,” has been “holding [his] hand” and helping him “through all the things that are hard to learn,” since Radcliffe has had his own Broadway experience.
“From what I gather, it’s an amazing community of people. The fans are really, really gracious and excited,” he told People on the Tony Awards red carpet. “So I’m just thrilled to be part of it.”
Image credits: The Hollywood Reporter
The actor admitted he initially thought the “fandom flame” for the wizarding world “might douse over the years.”
“But clearly it’s not,” he said during his chat with Variety.
