That’s just plain Dumb: present wizard as gay, say Potter fans
JK ROWLING has hit out at some of her own fans after they complained that the sexuality of one of her main characters was being repressed.
Some Harry Potter fans are upset that Dumbledore, head of the wizarding school Hogwarts, will not to be presented as a gay character in a forthcoming spin-off film.
The author revealed in 2007 that she “always thought of Dumbledore as gay” and has said the Hogwarts headmaster was in love with Gellert Grindlewald, his childhood best friend.
That relationship will be explored in the next instalment in the Fantastic Beasts franchise. But David Yates, the film’s director, told Entertainment Weekly that Dumbledore’s sexuality will not be “explicitly” explored.
“He had a very intense relationship with Grindelwald when they were young men,” he said. “They fell in love with each other’s ideas, and ideology and each other.”
Fans reacted angrily on social media. “Please tell me @jk_rowling is actually writing Dumbledore as explicitly gay for Fantastic Beasts 2 and David Yates has no idea what he’s talking about. I don’t think I could handle it otherwise. The thought is literally making me sick,” wrote Joshua Yehl, comics editor of the website IGN.
Another fan wrote: “[She] made all us LGBTQ fans so happy when she revealed that one of our heroes was one of us. And now she’s shoved Dumbledore right back in the closet.”
A spokesperson for the LGBT Foundation said: “It’s a real shame to miss this opportunity to represent him as a gay person. The decision does seem very jarring especially considering so many Harry Potter fans are LGBT.”
Rowling defended herself against abuse posted by some fans, ironically calling it “obviously tons of fun”.
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is scheduled for release in November, with Johnny Depp in the titular role and Jude Law set to play Dumbledore.