Keira Knightley’s Harry Potter casting feels like a betrayal to fans like me
Being a trans ally and a Keira Knightley fan are – to my grave disappointment – now mutually exclusive.
The latest Harry Potter adaptation casting is perhaps the most soul-crushing of all — and it’s not something I can magically brush aside.
It’s been confirmed that Keira Knightley will join the Audible book series as the voice of the universally despised Professor Umbridge when the wizarding franchise is adapted into a seven-part audiobook series.
The ensemble comprises more than 200 actors, some of whom are among the most esteemed in the business, from Hugh Laurie to Matthew Macfadyen.
In the latest casting announcement, Knightley’s name sits alongside Game of Thrones icon Kit Harington, Luther villainess Ruth Wilson, and One Day’s leading lady Ambika Mod, all of whose work I am a huge fan of.
However, when I read the Love Actually actress’ name on the list, it was a particularly sharp knife through the heart. I immediately began to grieve the love I have felt for someone with strong ties to the LGBTQ+ community.
Harry Potter author JK Rowling has made no secret of her feelings towards the trans community (Picture: EPA)By signing up for the project, with the first book to be released in November, I believe Knightley has sadly proven that even the stars who appear to have the most unwavering morals and unshakeable voices of allyship can be bought out – and it’s trans people who have the most to lose.
In recent years, Harry Potter author JK Rowling has made no secret of her feelings towards the trans community, claiming – among other things – that there ‘are no trans kids’ and that no child is ‘born in the wrong body’. In my view, these are cruel comments in line with an archaic interpretation of womanhood.
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
Up Next
Previous Page Next Page Join Metro's LGBTQ+ community on WhatsAppWith thousands of members from all over the world, our vibrant LGBTQ+ WhatsApp channel is a hub for all the latest news and important issues that face the LGBTQ+ community.
Simply click on this link, select ‘Join Chat’ and you’re in! Don't forget to turn on notifications!
Consequently, those signing on to work in projects that will further line her pockets have sparked outrage, alienating their once fiercely loyal fanbases for seemingly selling out the trans community.
So I can no longer support Knightley. Being a queer woman, a trans ally, and a Keira Knightley fan are – to my grave disappointment – now mutually exclusive.
Ever since I was a little girl, I have found solace in her work. I didn’t always understand why, though.
When I first watched Bend It Like Beckham in the early 2000s as a child, I had neither the vocabulary nor the awareness to articulate why the character of Jules Paxton made me feel seen or why her ‘friendship’ with Jess made my tummy flutter.
Read more about Harry Potter Who’s in the Harry Potter TV reboot cast? Every star so far Tom Felton was asked about JK Rowling and immediately showed his privilege The first look at the new Harry Potter confirmed my worst fears I feel conflicted about Paapa Essiedu’s latest move after joining Harry Potter I felt things when Jules and Jess locked eyes across the pitch (Picture: Alamy Stock Photo)Fast forward a few years, grant me access to the internet, and open my eyes to the mere existence of homosexuality beyond Bible classes, and the fog was lifted. It dawned on me that my infatuation with the fictional footballer was due to the deep-set queer subtext of the character and her inherently lesbian traits.
I gradually came to realise that I felt things when Jules and Jess locked eyes across the pitch because they were speaking to me on an emotional level. From there, I was fully aboard the Keira Knightley train and became mesmerised by anything I saw her in, whether it be a romantic comedy or the British period dramas she’s grown synonymous with.
Her character in Pirates of the Caribbean oozed both beauty and power. Her later portrayal of Joan Clarke in 2014’s The Imitation Game as a companion and confidante to Alan Turing (a mathematical genius who was prosecuted for homosexual acts) was tear-jerking, to say the least.
