The Museum of Pop Culture in US city Seattle is holding a Harry Potter exhibition but doesn’t want anything to do with the boy-wizard stories’ author JK Rowling as it deems her “‘super hateful and divisive”.
Rowling has been airbrushed from the hall of fame and the exhibition by project manager Chris Moore, who is transgender. Moore had earlier called her a “cold, heartless, joy-sucking entity”, in a blogpost.
In the post, titled “she who must not be named“, Moore describes Rowling as “problematic” and lists the reasons why he thinks that: “The support of anti-Semitic creators, the racial stereotypes that she used while creating characters, the incredibly white wizarding world, the fat shaming, the lack of LGBTQIA+ representation, the super-chill outlook on the bigotry and othering of those that don’t fit into the standard wizarding world, and so much more.”
The museum still presents memorabilia to the public but won’t make any mention of or display any image of the author. According to Moore, “The solution is not ideal, but it is what we can do for now, pending long-term measures.”
The museum told British newspaper The Telegraph,“MoPOP is proud to support our employees and unequivocally stands with nonbinary and transgender communities.
“In an increasingly divided world, pop culture can unite, inspire and spark important conversations.”
Rowling came under fire after she voiced her opposition to descriptions of women as “people who menstruate”. She is a staunch defender of women’s rights and a survivor of domestic abuse and sexual assault. Rowling says transgender activism and “woke” ideology are a threat to those rights.
Since she criticised transgender activism, which she sees as “dangerous absurdities”, Rowling has been roundly derided in progressive circles. Journalists and activists have called her “transphobic” among other slurs.
Last summer, she was excluded from the Return to Hogwarts programme organised by US film company Warner to mark the 20th anniversary of the Harry Potter saga in cinemas.
Despite the boycotts, Rowling keeps producing extremely popular Harry Potter-related content. The game Hogwarts Legacy, for example, was a smash hit, selling in the millions and grossing more than $1 billion. HBO Max’s new Harry Potter TV series is thought more than likely to be a major success as well.
https://twitter.com/Nesselwanger/status/1687027074546929664?s=20
