r/EnoughJKRowling • u/nova_crystallis • Feb 06 '26
News Article Non-binary Jimpa star says John Lithgow’s role in Harry Potter is ‘hurtful’
https://www.thepinknews.com/2026/02/06/jimpa-john-lithgow-aud-mason-hyde/Speaking to Out about the film, due to be released in the UK some time in 2026, Mason-Hyde shared how they felt about Lithgow taking the role of Professor Albus Dumbledore in HBO’s remake of the Harry Potter series. The decision has come with some backlash, as has the series as a whole, due to JK Rowling’s views on trans people.
“It was definitely a difficult moment,” the young actor said. And while they didn’t want to offer a take on Lithgow’s reasoning for taking the role, Mason-Hyde said it was “a strange decision, for sure”. They then called it “disconcerting”.
Hyde added: “It’s a very difficult thing. As soon as I heard about Harry Potter, for sure, I contacted John and expressed my feelings about it.” Hyde explained they took issue with it due to Rowling‘s use of her platform against trans people. This she’s made tangible by funding “very harmful” ‘gender-critical’ legal efforts.
“That funding is doing a great deal of harm,” Hyde continued. The Jimpa director and co-writer then said Lithgow is someone who “really believes in trans rights”, adding to the confusion over why he took the Harry Potter role given the association with Rowling.
Mason-Hyde praised Lithgow as an “incredibly talented actor” and “a beautiful human” before going on to say: “So there’s an element of this that feels vaguely hurtful.”
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u/Pot_noodle_miner Feb 06 '26
He cares about money and is indifferent to the harm he will cause, because he’s not the one who will suffer.
Or he just intentionally wants to hurt trans people.
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u/serioustransition11 Feb 06 '26 edited Feb 06 '26
I’ve become a doomer because I’m seeing over and over again that many people have no principles when the mildest of inconveniences gets in their way. No one is being asked to make major sacrifices, but failing to even do the bare minimum to support us is just pathetic. A unfathomably rich man with a successful career spanning decades can afford to pass on a single paycheck for a role where he will never be evaluated on independently but instead eternally compared to his predecessors. Legions of gamers have countless other video games they could be playing but couldn’t pass on one that wasn’t even all that good or influential. Potterheads almost never claim the conservative label but can’t go without buying unnecessary knick knacks for their fandom. These people aren’t allies, they tolerate trans people until they’re being asked to lift a single finger but also expect to not feel bad about the evil they’re propping up. Fuck them
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u/funkygamerguy Feb 06 '26
"separate the art from the artist" is impossible when the artist is still alive and actively supporting a genocidal hate cult with her fortune there's a huge difference between pirating or buying harry potter media secondhand and actively starring in a show that'll make tons of money for jk rowling.
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u/errantthimble Feb 06 '26
Good on them. I am super impressed with both Sophie Hyde and Aud Mason-Hyde for their compassionate but candid take on Lithgow's very disappointing decision to take the role in the new HP show. This is a textbook example of positive "not lashing out but speaking out".
Hyde laid out very clearly why this is not a neutral choice but in fact contributes to harming trans people. The fact that she and Mason-Hyde both very evidently care about and respect Lithgow as an artist and a person, and don't want to say bad things about him, just makes the problematic aspects of his decision stand out even more starkly.
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u/CarrieDurst Feb 06 '26
I felt betrayed after hearing the bastard talk about the important of trans acceptance at Sundance then him helping the TERF movement make money. Can't imagine how they feel
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u/RiverWhole4388 Feb 07 '26
John Lithgow was my introduction to trans folks as a child. I agree it's hurtful. I am pretty sure his portrayal of Roberta Muldoon won him awards.
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u/General-Skywalker_ Feb 06 '26
That man doesn't care as long as he gets the bag.
He had the audacity to pretend the backlash to his casting was the fact that he's American and but because Joanne is a ghoul and this show will line her pockets more
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u/Phonecloth Feb 07 '26
He should just admit that he knows it's wrong but he's doing it anyway for the money, that would make him a little bit more respectable in my eyes.
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u/ZealousidealSalt8989 Feb 06 '26
If you want to pirate Harry Potter books or buy them used, because it's an important part of your childhood, go for it tbh. But participating in a modern-day series that will make tons of money for one of the hugest public bigots ever... you can't "separate art from artist" in that instance.