‘Harry Potter’ Actor Katie Leung Speaks Out For Trans Women Amid J.K. Rowling Backlash

The actor, who didn't address Rowling by name, used her platform to educate about Black trans women after the author went on a transphobic tear.
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Katie Leung, best known for her role as Cho Chang in the “Harry Potter” films, has spoken out on the heels of J.K. Rowling’s remarks about transgender women over the weekend.

The actor simply tweeted on Sunday, “So, you want my thoughts on Cho Chang? Okay, here goes ... ” after the “Harry Potter” author was widely accused of transphobia and Twitter conversation was saturated with talk of the fantasy series.

Leung went on to share a thread of resources supporting Black transgender people around the globe. She ended the thread with “#AsiansForBlackLives.”

The tweets come after Rowling popped online Saturday to weigh in on an opinion article titled, “Creating a More Equal Post-COVID-19 World for People Who Menstruate.” In response, Rowling explained that she was unclear why the headline didn’t refer to those who get their periods as just “women.”

“I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out,” she wrote in her initial tweet. “Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?”

The LGBTQ community and its supporters pushed back hard on Rowling’s transphobic remarks, prompting her to then double down with more offensive tweets.

“If sex isn’t real, there’s no same-sex attraction. If sex isn’t real, the lived reality of women globally is erased. I know and love trans people, but erasing the concept of sex removes the ability of many to meaningfully discuss their lives. It isn’t hate to speak the truth,” she wrote. “The idea that women like me, who’ve been empathetic to trans people for decades, feeling kinship because they’re vulnerable in the same way as women — ie, to male violence – ‘hate’ trans people because they think sex is real and has lived consequences — is a nonsense.”

Rowling was called “complete scum” and a “TERF” (trans exclusionary radical feminist), and was told to “shut up.”

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