Harry Potter star Emma Watson has issued a message of support for trans people in the wake of a series of "anti-trans" issued by author JK Rowling.
The Harry Potter author tweeted;
"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 continued;
"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 has since posted a statement on her website addressing the backlash, and after fellow Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe spoke out on Rowling's comments, Emma Watson has now tweeted out her own message of support for trans people. She wrote;
"Trans people are who they say they are and deserve to live their lives without being constantly questioned or told they aren’t who they say they are.
I want my trans followers to know that I and so many other people around the world see you, respect you and love you for who you are."
Watson rounded off the message by sharing two charities that she donates too, encouraging her followers to consider doing the same and wishing Happy Pride.
Daniel Radcliffe's statement - posted to LGBTQ suicide prevention charity The Trevor Project's website - reads in part;
"Transgender women are women. Any statement to the contrary erases the identity and dignity of transgender people and goes against all advice given by professional health care associations who have far more expertise on this subject matter than either Jo or I."
You can read Daniel Radcliffe's statement in full here, as well as JK Rowling's full statement regarding the comments she made on Saturday on her website, here.
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