Major Harry Potter Star Throws Some Shade on JK Rowling
With an expected interest surrounding the now-out Beyond The Wand: The Magic and Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard the Wizarding World of Harry Potter the fandom is fussing and bussing just like a freshly brewed potion in the cauldron.
Everyone is excited about the book and about what tea Tom Felton might spill since he said he "was encouraged to tell the whole story" by his co-star Emma Watson.
But apart from the book, Felton spilled some tea in a recent interview with the Independent, where he firmly set the creator of the book franchise apart from the movies he was in. In Felton's book, J.K. Rowling is mentioned, obviously, but it is hard not to notice her absence in the book's acknowledgment section.
The actor is very generous with gratitude and love toward the cast, crew, and other people involved in the making of Harry Potter movies, but his attention seemed to skip the woman who brought this entire world and its characters to life. And it might make sense, since in recent years JK became a controversial figure due to her comments in regard to the LGBTQ+ community.
When the conversation goes in that direction, Felton says, "First of all, I don't know enough about the specifics of what anyone said. My dog takes up far too much time for me to go into such matters. I mean, the obvious things to say are that I'm pro-choice, pro-discussion, pro-human rights across the board, and pro-love. And anything that is not those things, I don't really have much time for."
To address the somewhat obvious lack of attention to Rowling in the book, the actor says, "It is also a reminder that as much as Jo is the founder of [these] stories, she wasn't part of the filmmaking process as much as some people might think. I think I only recall seeing her once or twice on set."
Maybe JK Rowling "wasn't part of the filmmaking process as much" as we think, but Tom still makes sure to note that Rowling is "responsible" for stories that are beloved by people "of all ages, of all backgrounds." And goes on to add, "Honestly, with my friends, we all have differing opinions on various matters, and we celebrate our own choices. We certainly don't take any pleasure in putting crosshairs on people that may have said things that we disagree with."
Anyways, the fandom of Harry Potter has a very good reason to celebrate, as Tom's memoir hit the stores already. And we can bet that on the pages of Beyond The Wand, fans will find something even more interesting.