Fantastic Beasts star Katherine Waterston says trans rights message felt ‘important to communicate’ after JK Rowling controversy

‘One wondered if they might be grouped in with other people’s views by association,’ said the actor

Katherine Waterston, one of the leads of the Fantastic Beasts franchise, has addressed her decision to speak out in support of trans rights.

The actor, who plays the witch Tina Goldstein in the Harry Potter spin-off series, shared a post on Instagram the day after JK Rowling returned a prestigious human rights award.

Rowling gave back the Robert F Kennedy Human Rights Ripple of Hope Award last August, after the foundation’s president denounced the author’s anti-trans comments. Rowling had published a blog listing “five reasons for being worried about the new trans activism”.

Waterston then shared a Guardian article to her Instagram story with the headline: “Trans women pose no threat to cis women, but we pose a threat to them if we make them outcasts.”

Various parts were circled and underlined in red, including the sentence: “Sorry, you can’t be a feminist if you’re not for everyone’s human rights, notably other women’s human rights.”

Speaking to The Independent in a new interview, Waterston reflected on the post, saying: “Because I was associated with Fantastic Beasts, it felt important to communicate my position.

“One wondered if they might be grouped in with other people’s views by association.”

Waterston’s latest film, The World to Come, is in UK cinemas now.