Archive · 11 Aug 2026
Bel Powley Disagrees With Rowling's Views, Still Loves Potter
Bel Powley is an actor who is going to be in a brand new Harry Potter TV show.
She will play Petunia Dursley, who is Harry Potter's aunt.
Petunia does not like magic very much.
Bel Powley says she disagrees with the Harry Potter author, JK Rowling, about how we talk about gender.
She thinks transgender people deserve safety, dignity, respect, and total acceptance.
Even though she disagrees with the author, Bel Powley still loves the Harry Potter books.
She grew up reading them and was part of the first generation of readers.
She says she loves magic and spookiness.
The new show will start on Christmas Day on HBO and will also stream on HBO Max.
The show also includes other famous actors, like John Lithgow, who will play Albus Dumbledore.
Bel Powley is set to play Petunia Dursley, Harry Potter's Muggle aunt, in HBO's upcoming Harry Potter series.
Powley told The Telegraph she 'strongly disagree[s]' with JK Rowling's views on gender.
She said the trans community deserves 'safety and dignity and respect and total acceptance.'
Despite disagreeing with Rowling, Powley said she loves Harry Potter and grew up with the books as a first-generation reader.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone will debut on Christmas Day on HBO and stream exclusively on HBO Max.
- Who
- Bel Powley, the actor playing Petunia Dursley, and author JK Rowling, whose gender views Powley disagrees with; the series also stars John Lithgow, Paapa Essiedu, Nick Frost and others.
- What
- Powley said she strongly disagrees with Rowling's views on gender while reaffirming her love for the Harry Potter books and her support for the trans community.
- When
- The series debuts on Christmas Day; the date of Powley's interview comments was not specified.
- Where
- The comments were made in an interview with The Telegraph; the series will air on HBO and stream on HBO Max.
- Why
- Powley was asked about the association between her new role in the Harry Potter series and Rowling's views on gender.
Supporters of trans-inclusive gender views
Supporters of JK Rowling's position
Gender views and the Harry Potter franchise
Supporters of trans-inclusive gender views
Bel Powley strongly disagrees with Rowling's views on gender and says the trans community deserves safety, dignity, respect, and total acceptance; actors Emma Watson and Daniel Radcliffe have also publicly opposed Rowling's rhetoric.
Supporters of JK Rowling's position
JK Rowling holds views on gender that Powley says she strongly disagrees with; the articles do not detail Rowling's own position.
- Actor
- Bel Powley (age 34)
- Role
- Petunia Dursley, Harry Potter's Muggle aunt
- Production
- HBO's upcoming Harry Potter series
- Premiere
- Christmas Day on HBO; exclusive streaming on HBO Max
- Author
- JK Rowling
- Powley's stance
- Strongly disagrees with Rowling's gender views; supports trans community
- Other project
- Sky's supernatural thriller Possession
- Possession character
- Charlotte Connaught, daughter of a British plantation owner in 18th-century Jamaica
