Don’t give JK a hard time.. she izz not transphobic
Comedian Issues won’t be sorted by waving wand
Eddie Izzard has defended JK Rowling over claims the author is transphobic.
The gender-f luid comedian, who identifies as male and female, urged critics of the Harry Potter creator to look more closely at what she has written online.
Izzard, 58, said: “I don’t think JK Rowling is transphobic. We need to look at the things she has written about in her blog.
“Women have been through such hell over history. Trans people have been invisible too. I hate the idea we are fighting between ourselves but it’s not going to be sorted with the wave of a wand. I don’t have all the answers. If people disagree with me, fine – but why are we going through hell on this?”
Rowling, 55, who lives in Edinburgh, angered trans activists after objecting to people using the term “people who menstruate” rather than “women”.
She wrote on Twitter: “I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. “Someone helpp me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?” Rowl iingng has denied being transphobic and revealed in her blog she is a
domestic abuse survivor and was sexually assaulted to explain why she feels strongly about women’s rights.
Harry Potter stars Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint took to social media to condemn the author’s comments and voice their support for the trans community along with Eddie Redmayne, star of the Fantastic Beasts f ilms, which are produced aand co-written by Rowling.
Last momonth, Izzard revealed he wanted to bbe referred to as “she/her” after appearingappea on Sky Arts’ Portrait Artist of ththe Year. However, in an interview heh said he was not fussed about the trtrans debate and was unsure about fully transitioning to female.
He said: “I do feel female but if I was only expresexpressing the female side of me, the boy side wouldn’t be represented. Whichever way, I’m slightly underrepresented.represented It’s whatever people want, if they call mem she and her, that’s great or he and hihim, I don’t mind. I prefer to be called Eddie,Ed that covers everything. “Your brain gets coded male or female when you’re young. Mine got cocoded both ways. I have the gift of both, although it doesn’t feel fee like a gift at first.”
Comedian John Cleese and Harry H Potter actor Robbie Coltrane C have also defended Rowling’s stance on trans issues.