‘Harry Potter’s Paapa Essiedu Doesn’t Want To Discuss J.K. Rowling “At All,” Insists He’s “Super Clear” About Trans Support

As the Christmas clock counts down to HBO’s Harry Potter premiere, Paapa Essiedu is once again making his support for trans people clear.

The actor, who stars as Severus Snape in the series adaptation that premieres Dec. 25, recently made it clear that he doesn’t “want to talk about [author J.K. Rowling] at all,” explaining he believes trans people deserve “respect and dignity and safety at all times.”

“I have been super clear about my position on this topic, and that is the reason why she spoke out about me,” he told Vanity Fair. “I’m really keen not to make a kind of ‘them and us’ dynamic here. I’m not really here to speak about Jo’s politics or to be a mouthpiece for her. I can only be really, really clear about what I believe and be consistent with that.”

Essiedu added, “I believe, in my bones, that trans people, queer people, people of all creeds and color have got the right to be treated with respect and dignity and safety at all times—whether they’re in the workplace, whether they’re at home or in the street, whatever. That’s what I believe, and that’s the way that I choose to live my life. That’s the creed by which I live.”

Despite Rowling’s infamous social media campaign of transphobia in recent years, Essiedu still identifies with the Harry Potter books’ “themes of forgiveness, and good triumphing over evil, and of accepting people for who they are and allowing people to really be themselves within a world where anything is possible.

“I feel like there is something at the center of the story that we own, at least as much as anybody else, that still has the potential to do really, really, really beautiful things,” he added.

Having been outspoken against transgender rights in recent years, Rowling previously celebrated UK’s Supreme Court last year ruling that prohibits trans women from being legally recognized as women. At the time, more than 400 people signed a letter urging the country’s film and television industry to take action on trans rights, including Essiedu.

Rowling commented on Essiedu’s pro-trans advocacy after fans speculated if the actor would be axed from the show. “I don’t have the power to sack an actor from the series, and I wouldn’t exercise it if I did. I don’t believe in taking away people’s jobs or livelihoods because they hold legally protected beliefs that differ from mine,” she posted on social media.

Meanwhile, Essiedu’s co-stars John Lithgow and Bel Powley have expressed their disagreement with Rowling’s anti-trans views.

Premiering on Christmas Day, Harry Potter began filming in the UK last summer. Its cast includes Dominic McLaughlin as the titular boy wizard, Alastair Stout as Ron Weasley, Arabella Stanton as Hermoine Granger, John Lithgow as Albus Dumbledore, Janet McTeer as Minerva McGonagall and Nick Frost as Rubeus Hagrid.

Additionally, BBC is working on a two-part documentary about Rowling that explores the rise of Harry Potter and the author’s use of her platform to fight trans rights.