Posted in: Audio Dramas, TV | Tagged: harry potter

Harry Potter: Michelle Gomez Responds to Audiobook Casting Backlash

Michelle Gomez posted a message to "my LGBTQ+ fans, and especially the trans community" about the backlash over the "Harry Potter" audiobooks.

As production continues on HBO, showrunner/EP Francesca Gardiner, and director/EP Mark Mylod's Dominic McLaughlin (Harry Potter), Arabella Stanton (Hermione Granger), and Alastair Stout (Ron Weasley)-starring series adaptation of JK Rowling's "Harry Potter" novels, the upcoming audiobook adaptation is making headlines. Earlier this week, Audible rolled out the cast, including Hugh Laurie, Riz Ahmed, Michelle Gomez, Matthew Macfadyen, Cush Jumbo, and others. Not long after the news hit that Gomez was joining the adaptation in the role of Hogwarts professor Minerva McGonagall, fans on social media began calling out Gomez for choosing to support anything involving Rowling. The bestselling author has been in the spotlight over the past several years for their comments and their donation/fundraising efforts against the transgender community. Taking to social media, Gomez offered a response to "my LGBTQ+ fans, and especially the trans community."

"I want to speak directly to the concerns that have been raised about my involvement in this project. I hear you, and I understand why this is painful for many. I want to be clear that I stand with trans people, and I support trans rights – fully and without hesitation," Gomez shared on her Instagram Stories account. "When I accepted this role, I did so as someone who has always loved the stories and what they meant to so many – especially those who found comfort and identity in that world. I now understand more clearly how deeply complicated and hurtful this association can feel, and I take that seriously. Being an ally means listening even when it's uncomfortable and taking accountability where it's needed. I'm committed to doing both."

The stories from each of the Harry Potter books will become (from the initial statement that was released when the HBO series news first dropped) "a decade-long series produced with the same epic craft, love, and care this global franchise is known for. The series will feature a new cast to lead a new generation of fandom, full of fantastic detail, much-loved characters, and dramatic locations that Harry Potter fans have loved for over twenty-five years. Each season will be authentic to the original books and bring Harry Potter and these incredible adventures to new audiences around the world, while the original, classic, and beloved films will remain at the core of the franchise and available to watch globally."

Joining McLaughlin, Stanton, and Stout are Paapa Essiedu as Prof. Severus Snape John Lithgow as Albus Dumbledore, Janet McTeer as Minerva McGonagall, Nick Frost as Rubeus Hagrid, Luke Thallon as Quirinus Quirrell, Paul Whitehouse as Argus Filch, Katherine Parkinson as Molly Weasley, Lox Pratt as Draco Malfoy, Johnny Flynn as Lucius Malfoy, Leo Earley as Seamus Finnigan, Alessia Leoni as Parvati Patil, Sienna Moosah as Lavender Brown, Bel Powley as Petunia Dursley, Daniel Rigby as Vernon Dursley, and Bertie Carvel as Cornelius Fudge. In addition, we have Rory Wilmot as Neville Longbottom, Amos Kitson as Dudley Dursley, Louise Brealey as Madam Rolanda Hooch, and Anton Lesser as Garrick Ollivander.

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