J.K. Rowling says she made the decision not to participate in the HBO Max reunion special, Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts, which aired on New Year's Day.
The 57-year-old Harry Potter author opened up about the decision over the weekend in an interview for Virgin Radio with Graham Norton.
"I wasn't actually [excluded]," Rowling told Norton, who assumed she had not been asked to join the special. "I was asked to be on that, and I decided I didn't want to do it."
Rowling also gave her reasons for not participating in the special.
"I thought it was about the films more than the books, you know? Quite rightly, that was what the anniversary was about," she said, referencing the special which marked the 20th anniversary of the first Potter film, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. "No one said, 'Don't come.' I was asked to do it, and I decided not to."
The special featured throwback interviews with Rowling alongside the present day interviews from the film's cast and crew.
In June 2020, Rowling made headlines for her public remarks on gender, and was accused of being transphobic. The British author has publicly defended her comments numerous times, while several Potter stars, including Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint, have publicly spoken out against Rowling's statements.
Norton asked Rowling if she still keeps in touch with any of the film's stars. "Yes, I do [still talk to them], some more than others, but that was always the case," she shared. "Some I knew better than others."
Rowling also addressed her sometimes confrontational Twitter persona.
"I try and behave online as I would like others to behave. I've never threatened anyone, obviously, and I certainly wouldn't want anyone to go to their houses or anything like that," Rowling said, noting that she has received multiple death threats in recent years. "Social media, it can be a lot of fun, and I do like the pub argument aspect of it, that can be a fun thing to do. But there's no doubt that social media is a gift for people who want to behave in a malign way."
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