David Tennant has said he bears JK Rowling “no ill will” as he explained his continued support for the LGBT+ community.
The Scottish actor, 54, has previously drawn the ire of the Harry Potter author over his support for transgender rights. He had a brief role in the fourth film adaptation of her books, Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire, as the evil wizard Barty Crouch Jr.
Rowling, meanwhile, was a prominent supporter of the recent controversial Supreme Court ruling that the term “woman” in the Equality Act refers to a biological woman.
Appearing on ITV1 show The Assembly, Tennant grew emotional as he recalled the Section 28 legislation introduced by Margaret Thatcher’s government that prohibited local authorities from “intentionally promoting homosexuality”.
The section had a significant detrimental impact on LGBT+ rights and education: “[It] was basically saying it was illegal to talk about being gay in school, or to suggest that that might be a normal way of behaving,” Tennant said.
“We look back on that now as a medieval, absurd thing to try and say. And I think the way the trans community is being demonised and othered is exactly the same. It’s become this kind of political football.”
Section 28 was enacted in May 1988 and not fully repealed until 2003.
In November last year, Rowling joked on social media that her “thoughts and prayers” were “with David Tennant at this very difficult time” after Kemi Badenoch was elected as leader of the Conservative Party.
Badenoch, like Rowling, has been outspoken in her views on the UK debate surrounding gender and claimed prior to the Supreme Court ruling that extra protections for single sex spaces were required because “predators” were exploiting transgender rights.
Tennant said that he wished Badenoch, formerly the UK Minister for Women and Equalities, would “shut up” while he was accepting an award at the British LGBT Awards in June 2024.
“JK Rowling is a wonderful author who’s created brilliant stories, and I wish her no ill will, but I hope that we can all as a society, just let people be,” Tennant responded on the show when asked about the author. “Just get out of people’s way.”
The actor previously appeared to make a dig at Rowling when he was asked about the prospect of taking part in the new Harry Potter series, which is being developed by Warner Bros.
Tennant said he felt his contribution to the franchise had “probably been made” before adding, “I’m told there’s an executive producer who doesn’t love me on that show”, which many assumed to be a reference to Rowling.
She has previously seemed to take a swipe at the Harry Potter films’ lead stars, Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint, for their own support of transgender rights.
On Tuesday (18 March), when Rowling was asked: “What actor/actress instantly ruins a movie for you?” she responded: “Three guesses. Sorry, but that was irresistible.”
Meanwhile last week, The Last of Us star Pedro Pascal called Rowling a “heinous loser” in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling, as she shared a photo from her superyacht, smoking a cigar, alongside the caption, “I love it when a plan comes together”.
The Assembly places a celebrity in front of a group of autistic, neurodivergent and learning-disabled people, who ask the star questions about their views, work and personal lives.
In his episode, Tennant also spoke about his time on the BBC sci-fi series Doctor Who and revealed he had his wife’s initials tattooed on his wrist for her 40th birthday.
Tennant’s episode of The Assembly will air at 10pm on ITV1 on Sunday April 27.
Additional reporting by Press Association.
