British actress Keira Knightley was not aware of J.K. Rowling's views on trans people before joining the cast of Harry Potter audiobook series as Professor Dolores Umbridge, the 40-year-old actress said in a recent interview.
“I was not aware of that, no. I’m very sorry,” Knightley told US-based news outlet Decider.
“You know, I think we’re all living in a period of time right now where we’re all going to have to figure out how to live together, aren’t we? And we’ve all got very different opinions. I hope that we can all find respect,” added the Oscar-nominated actress, who last starred in the mystery thriller The Woman in Cabin 10.
In the upcoming Harry Potter audiobook series, Knightley's character, Professor Dolores Umbridge, is sent to Hogwarts by the Ministry of Magic to take power away from Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore. The role was played by Imelda Staunton in the film series.
The first part of the audiobook series, adapting the first novel in the book series Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, will debut on Audible on November 4. Each of the remaining six audiobooks will be released monthly worldwide. The titles can be preordered on Audible.
Rowling's feud with former Harry Potter star Emma Watson made headlines recently.
In 2020, after Rowling posted a series of tweets and a 3,600-word essay that many criticised as transphobic, Watson shared a brief statement voicing her support for the transgender community.
During a recent sit-down interview on the On Purpose With Jay Shetty podcast, Watson said that she could never cancel the author from her life despite their rift.
“It’s my deepest wish that I hope people who don’t agree with my opinion will love me, and I hope I can keep loving people who I don’t necessarily share the same opinion with,” said Watson.
Rowling took to X to respond to the remarks Watson made on Shetty’s podcast. “Emma and Dan [Radcliffe] in particular have both made it clear over the last few years that they think our former professional association gives them a particular right—nay, obligation—to critique me and my views in public,” she wrote.
The 60-year-old author went on to describe Watson as having “so little experience of real life she's ignorant of how ignorant she is.”
