Culture 2 min read By Lauren Baxter
Trans rights protesters disrupt Harry Potter store opening on London's Oxford Street
Protesters gathered outside the franchise's new London flagship store as fans lined up, chanting that J.K. Rowling has blood on her hands over her views on gender identity.
Trans rights protesters disrupted the opening of the new Harry Potter flagship store on London's Oxford Street, greeting fans queuing to enter with chants that J.K. Rowling has « blood on her hands ». A group of around a dozen demonstrators stood beside the shop, using megaphones and carrying placards with messages including « trans kids » slogans aimed at the author's public stance on gender identity.
The protest was held on the day the store opened, in a location that has become a focal point for the wider debate over Rowling's comments on transgender issues. Additional reports of the same demonstration describe a smaller group of about six people carrying signs reading « protect trans lives » and « stop funding trans erasure ». The differing headcounts reflect the accounts of different outlets, and the size of the crowd was not independently confirmed in the material available.
Rowling's views on gender identity have been a recurring source of controversy for the franchise she created, and they continue to follow Harry Potter-branded projects and retail ventures. Protesters at the Oxford Street opening framed their message around that continuing association, targeting the author rather than the store's staff or customers. The Harry Potter brand's new London flagship is aimed at the franchise's large fan base, and the opening drew fans who lined up to enter despite the demonstration outside.
The disruption adds to a pattern of demonstrations that have accompanied Harry Potter events in recent years, with campaigners using high-profile openings to draw attention to their objections. Neither the store operators nor Rowling were quoted directly in the reporting describing the protest, and the material available does not indicate any arrests or violence at the scene.
Source: deadline.com
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