JK Rowling 'won't care at all' that the actor chosen to play Severus Snape in HBO's Harry Potter series has turned on her - as trans activists berated him for not quitting the show to spite the author.

Paapa Essiedu, who this summer will begin filming the show that will make him a multi-millionaire, has signed a letter standing 'in solidarity' with members of the LGBT+ community 'impacted' by the Supreme Court gender ruling.

An insider with working knowledge of the Harry Potter series told MailOnline today that Ms Rowling will not be bothered one iota by Essiedu's decision - and wouldn't dream of intervening to get him sacked, despite being heavily involved in the project.

‘Jo won't care at all', MailOnline's source said when asked about Paapa's decision to sign the letter.

‘She knows how powerful Harry Potter is and it's bigger than its cast. She knows she's going to come against criticism but she is now uncancelable.

‘For her it's business as usual', which is to ‘continue to build the Harry Potter brand' while supporting women's rights, the insider added.

It came as trans activists turned on Paapa, accusing him of virtue-signalling because he has not quit the show inspired by the books of their bête noire, branding his stance 'plain hollow'.












JK Rowling has been celebrating the Supreme Court's ruling on the definition of the term 'women' - posting this photo on X, formerly Twitter, from her $150million superyacht









The star of HBO's Harry Potter reboot Paapa Essiedu (pictured) has turned on its author JK Rowling in a letter standing 'in solidarity' with members of the LGBT + community











Paapa will play Severus Snape, previously famously played by the late Alan Rickman in the movie series

One critic said: 'It's a potential career boost for sure. The fact that he is working on a project that puts even more money in her pockets says a lot more about his values than any letter or petition he could possibly sign'.

Another wrote: 'A signature under an open letter will not undo the damage JK can inflict on the community with the millions she will make from this show'.

A third said: 'This is just plain hollow. If you truly care, call her out'.

MailOnline's source has said that JK and HBO would not dream of firing him - and he is unlikely to quit due to the fame and fortune it will bring.

‘I don't think they would want that [his sacking] optically.

‘If he chooses to leave the cast then that's his personal decision but it's a job on a huge show', the source said.

The letter, signed by more than 400 industry professionals including other actors from the franchise, claimed the ruling earlier this month 'undermines the lived reality and threatens the safety of trans, non-binary, and intersex people living in the UK'. 

Eddie Redmayne, star of Harry Potter spin-off Fantastic Beasts, is also amongst the signatories, having previously admitted he regrets playing a transgender character in The Danish Girl.

Rowling, 59, who has been outspoken on gender issues, 신점 supported the ruling, which said that the terms 'woman' and 'sex' in the Equality Act refer to a biological woman and biological sex. 

Essiedu is set to star as Hogwarts teacher Snape, who was previously played by the late Alan Rickman in the film series, in a TV adaption of Rowling's famous novels, which will reportedly start filming this summer. 

The London born actor's appointment sparked criticism from some fans while others defended him against what they called a 'racist backlash'.

HBO bosses had stood by outspoken Rowling when many lovers of the boy wizard franchise said she should have nothing to do with the new TV show. 








Oscar-winning actor Eddie Redmayne , who led the Fantastic Beasts films, is among the stars to sign the letter









Katie Leung (pictured right), who played Cho Chang in the Harry Potter film series, has also signed the letter

Essiedu's casting was announced earlier along with news that Emmy winner John Lithgow will play Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, Janet McTeer will take on the role of Professor Minerva McGonagall and Nick Frost will play Rubeus Hagrid. 

While many applauded the move when rumours of his casting first emerged in March, others raised concerns about potential racist backlash and fought against social media users who questioned whether the British actor would look the part.

Fans noted that as a black actor, playing the role of the professor who is bullied by Harry Potter's father James during their years as students at Hogwarts would 'totally change the dynamics of the James/Lily/Snape storyline'. 

Elsewhere, critics of the Harry Potter author criticised her role as an executive producer on the show because of her views on transgender issues. HBO chiefs later defended her role, saying Rowling had a 'right to express her personal views'.

Oscar-winning actor Eddie Redmayne, who led the Fantastic Beasts films, Katie Leung, who played Cho Chang in the Harry Potter film series, and Ghosts actress Charlotte Ritchie, who appeared as a student in Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire, also signed the letter.

Another signatory was Bridgerton actress Bessie Carter, the daughter of Dame Imelda Staunton, who played Dolores Umbridge in the popular films, and Breeders star Daisy Haggard, who voiced the Ministry Of Magic lift in the Harry Potter films.

Other signatories of the film and TV letter include The Brutalist actor Joe Alwyn, Babygirl star Harris Dickinson, The Last Of Us actor Bella Ramsey, Happy Valley star James Norton, and Bridgerton's Nicola Coughlan, who previously said she was 'disgusted' by the ruling. 

The letter said that the signatories wish to 'add our voices to the 2000+ signatories of the Open Letter from UK Writers to the Trans Community published last week', which was signed by Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies and Chewing Gum's Michaela Coel. 








Breeders star Daisy Haggard, who voiced the Ministry Of Magic lift in the Harry Potter films signed the letter calling for trans rights action









Ghosts actress Charlotte Ritchie, who appeared as a student in Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire, added her signature too




The letter called on organisations including Bafta and the BBC to join them in 'condemning' the Supreme Court ruling by 'using their public platforms to make meaningful commitments to protecting trans, non-binary, and intersex members, talent and staff from discrimination within their respective organisations.'

It said: 'Film and television are powerful tools for empathy and education, and we believe passionately in the ability of the screen to change hearts and minds. This is our opportunity to be on the right side of history.'

Rowling appeared to celebrate the April 16 ruling by posting a photo of her smoking a cigar on social media, with the caption 'I love it when a plan comes together', with the hashtags Supreme Court and Women's Rights.

The Supreme Court decision was hailed as a victory by women's rights campaigners, but LGBT+ charity Stonewall described it as 'incredibly worrying for the trans community'.

The judges said trans people are still protected from discrimination under equalities legislation, and that this interpretation of the law does not cause disadvantage to the 'potentially vulnerable group'.

While Rowling has been commenting at length on social media about the Supreme Court decision, fans have noted the apparent silence from three main Harry Potter stars who featured in the blockbuster movie adaptations of her books.

Daniel Radcliffe, 35, and fellow Harry Potter stars Emma Watson, 35, and Rupert Grint, 36, have spoken publicly in support of gender ideology - that biologically male trans women should be regarded as women.

And they have each commented in opposition to Rowling's views on the issue, while expressing their gratitude for her role in their careers.












Fans have noted the apparent silence from Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, JK Rowling and Emma Watson who featured in the blockbuster movie adaptations of her books. Pictured: Radcliffe, Grint, Rowling and Watson at the London premiere of the film Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban in May 2004 (left to right)







The author herself appeared to aim a jibe at them last month, when sharing on her X account a response to another user who asked: 'What actor/actress instantly ruins a movie for you?'

Rowling wrote: 'Three guesses. Sorry, but that was irresistible.'

And she previously indicated in April last year she would not forgive Radcliffe nor Watson as she criticised celebrities she said had 'cosied up to a movement intent on eroding women's hard-won rights'. 

On that occasion the multi-millionaire author hit out at stars accused of using their 'platforms to cheer on the transitioning of minors' after the release of the long-awaited Cass report into gender treatment in the UK.

That government-commissioned study deemed there to be 'remarkably weak evidence' for gender-affirming techniques in children such as puberty blockers.

It also said that 'for the majority of young people, a medical pathway may not be the best way' to help when they are 'presenting with gender incongruence or distress'.

When one fan said they were 'just waiting for Dan and Emma [Watson]' to offer a 'very public apology' knowing they'd be safe in the knowledge the author would forgive them, Rowling wrote: 'Not safe I'm afraid.

'Celebs who cosied 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 traumatised detransitioners and vulnerable women reliant on single sex spaces.'












JK Rowling, pictured attending a world premiere of HBO's Finding The Way Home in New York in December 2019, has been posting frequently about the subject since the Supreme Court ruling













Harry Potter author JK Rowling appeared to aim an online jibe last month at the three young actors who have disagreed with her stance on gender issues













She is seen here, second left, alongside Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint at the world premiere in London of Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2 in July 2011

Social media users have now been commenting on the apparent silence of Harry Potter film stars in relation to the new judgment by the Supreme Court.

Judges ruled that trans women with a gender recognition certificate (GRC) can be excluded from single-sex spaces if 'proportionate'.

It marks the culmination of a long-running legal battle between the Scottish government and women's group For Women Scotland over the definition of a 'woman' in Scottish law.

The case centred on whether somebody with a gender recognition certificate (GRC) recognising their gender as female should be protected from discrimination as a woman under the Equality Act.

The Scottish government had argued that such people were entitled to sex-based protections, meaning a transgender person with a GRC certificate identifying them as female would count towards women's quota.

But campaign group For Women Scotland claimed they only applied to people born female.

The Supreme Court has now ruled that the words 'sex', 'man' and 'woman' in the Equality Act must mean 'biological sex', rejecting any alternative interpretations as 'incoherence and impracticable'.

Rowling's evident disagreement with Radcliffe had begun after she called out an article that used the phrase 'people who menstruate' instead of women, writing: 'I'm sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?'

Shortly afterwards, Radcliffe penned an article for an LGBT+ suicide prevention charity in which he insisted that 'transgender women are women'.

He told The Atlantic last April that he had not spoken to Rowling for years, which upset him, but would not heed her call suggesting he should apologise to detransitioners harmed by puberty blockers.

He said: 'I will continue to support the rights of all LGBTQ people, and have no further comment than that.'






Radcliffe added: 'Jo, obviously Harry Potter would not have happened without her, so nothing in my life would have probably happened the way it is without that person. But that doesn't mean that you owe the things you truly believe to someone else for your entire life.

'It makes me really sad, ultimately, because I do look at the person that I met, the times that we met, and the books that she wrote, and the world that she created, and all of that is to me so deeply empathic.'

Radcliffe has long been a supporter of the Trevor Project, an LGBTQ suicide-prevention hotline and crisis-intervention resource.

Meanwhile Watson, who became famous after playing Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter film series, has previously spoken out on the trans debate.

She wrote: '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.

'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.'

Their fellow co-star Grint has also previously spoken up, telling the Times in 2020: 'I firmly stand with the trans community and echo the sentiments expressed by many of my peers.

'Trans women are women. Trans men are men. We should all be entitled to live with love and without judgement.'

Bafta and the BBC have been approached for comment.