07/31/2026
Canadians do not have to pretend this is neutral. The Harry Potter brand still financially and culturally benefits J.K. Rowling, while Rowling has used her wealth, fame and platform to support anti-trans politics in the real world.
She donated £70,000 to For Women Scotland's Supreme Court case over excluding trans people legal definition of woman.
She funded Sara Morrison's discrimination case. Morrison had left her job as an inclusion coordinator after her employer investigated her public anti-trans statements, and the tribunal later dismissed her claim saying she was not discriminated against.
In the United States, a Republican senator cited Rowling while blocking consideration of the Equality Act.
She founded and funds Beira's Place, a sexual violence support centre that excludes trans women. Rowling publicly mocked a call to Beira's Place from someone asking whether a woman with PCOS and a beard could access r**e counselling, described the caller as male and ridiculed their voice.
She has more recently posted an invasive photo of a trans woman that showed up her skirt, then using that image as part of a public argument.
.. the list goes on.
That is not a vague controversy, it's a record of a pattern of hate and abuse.
So when a Canadian company turns Harry Potter into a cute national promotion, people who paid attention her behavior and negative impact upon the world will object.
Nostalgia is being used to launder a brand attached to active harm against trans people.
Canadians do not have to pretend this is neutral or acceptable by Canadian values.