Editor’s Note: All opinion section content reflects the views of the individual author only and does not represent a stance taken by The Collegian or its editorial board.
In March, HBO Max released their trailer for the new “Harry Potter” television show. I have many, many issues with this show. Besides the fact not many people wanted this and very few asked for a reboot, the biggest issue is one of the executive producers: J.K. Rowling herself.
Rowling published the first Harry Potter book in 1997. Since its release, she has amassed a fortune through the series. Films, spin-offs, merchandise and even video games continue to funnel money into her pockets.
And what does she do with this money? She funds anti-trans legislation in the United Kingdom, reportedly donating 70,000 euros in 2024 to For Women Scotland, an anti-trans organization in the U.K.
Rowling’s anti-trans behavior can be traced back to 2018, when she liked a tweet referring to trans women as “men in dresses.” Then she began to follow transphobes on X. Finally, in 2020, she started spewing transphobic beliefs and ideas, attacking people previously involved with Harry Potter, including director Chris Columbus and actress Emma Watson, for not sharing her beliefs. Rowling is not shy about voicing her opinions.
By giving Rowling money, you are giving money to anti-trans organizations. Buying the books or merch firsthand, watching the movies on a streaming service — you might as well just donate to these transphobic organizations directly. Rowling had to get the 70,000 euros donated to FWS from somewhere.
You cannot claim to be an ally and also engage with the new Harry Potter products. If you really have to get the books or the movies, find them secondhand. I find it hard to believe your local used bookstore doesn’t carry at least one Harry Potter novel.
Of course, Rowling is not the only extremely problematic person to maintain a following.
Sean “Diddy” Combs has to go and so does everything associated with him. He is a sex trafficker and an accused rapist. Yet, the rapper maintains over 10 million monthly listeners on Spotify alone. Instead of holding Combs accountable, the public has forgotten about his crimes; people joke about him and the crimes he committed.
James Charles, an illustrious beauty influencer, has publicly admitted to messaging minors. It is not up for debate. He has even been accused of grooming people and harassing children on social media, yet Charles still has nearly 24 million subscribers on YouTube.
Melanie Martinez has sexual assault allegations. Shane Dawson has done blackface. Chris Brown is a domestic abuser.
So many celebrities have platforms they do not deserve.
People love to say, “Separate the art from the artist.” And you can, to an extent. People are not perfect. To disengage with every piece of media from every problematic person in history would be to lose a large amount of work. You can still read “For Whom the Bell Tolls” without endorsing Hemingway’s rampant misogyny, and you can wear Chanel No. 5 without being a Nazi sympathizer.
But to do so requires two things: First, you have to face these problematic ideas head-on without creating an excuse. This can be hard; it is difficult to admit the flaws in the things you like. We tend to play defense for our favorite films, books and songs, which makes it difficult to accept and acknowledge critiques and problems.
The second requirement to separate the art from the artist is the refusal to financially support the artist. If engaging with their art financially supports them, you are not separating art; you are just saying you are.
You can find a lot of things secondhand without financially supporting artists. Thrifting, Facebook Marketplace and eBay are all pretty simple ways to find art from artists you like without actually giving them any funds.
It takes work to separate the art from an artist. It’s not as easy as condemning them and then going right back to streaming their music on Spotify. And if you cannot give up a franchise to support a minority group, then I think you lack a backbone.
Reach Audrey Weishaar at letters@collegian.com or on social media @RMCollegian.
