Underemployed Actor Won’t Condemn Bigot Who Keeps Hiring Him

Tom Felton won’t let backlash to his support for J.K. Rowling stop him from supporting J.K. Rowling—or keep him from cashing in on his Draco Malfoy bag. Last week, Felton announced he’d be making his Broadway debut and reprising the role of Malfoy in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. (Recession indicator? Methinks yes…) As with anything Potter-related these days, fans and former fans immediately hopped online to discuss him working with (for?) Rowling again while knowing she uses her considerable wealth to further anti-trans causes.

So what does Felton think of all this? He’s not attuned to it. On the Tonys red carpet on Sunday, Felton seemed surprisingly underprepared for the question he and his team should have known was coming, telling Variety he’s not impacted by the “Twitterverse” conversation at all. Hard to believe from a man who still regularly posts Slytherin-based puns to Instagram, but sure. 

 

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As many online have already pointed out, it’s hard to find something more cringe-inducing than trying to sneak your decades-old catchphrase (“POTTAH”) into a lukewarm attempt at brushing aside transphobia, but I guess playing the villain just comes naturally to him. 

Felton’s decision to stick by Rowling despite her commitment to being one of the worst people on the internet puts him at odds with his (dare I say more employed) former co-stars. Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint have all repeatedly spoken out in support of the trans community throughout Rowling’s years of spewing anti-trans bile. In return, Rowling has taken time out of her busy schedule of posting transphobic screeds to angrily tweet about them as well, and suggesting she may never forgive them for their pro-trans stances. Somehow I feel like they’re not losing too much sleep over it. 

Conversely, Felton is rumored to have risen in Rowling’s esteem for his refusal to criticise her views, so he’ll be able to keep filling his Gringotts vault with Potter money for years to come. Allying yourself with the forces of darkness because it helps keep you rich and comfortable? I think we all know who that sounds like. 

With casting still being announced for the new HBO Harry Potter series, I think we all know what Tom is really after here. Unfortunately for him, the role of Lucius Malfoy has already been cast. Associating yourself with violent transphobia only to get passed over for a TV role that would have kept you employed for decades? Even Draco Malfoy had a limit on how much humiliation he could take. 

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