Harry Potter fans react to J.K. Rowling's claim that Dumbledore and Grindelwald were 'doing it'

"I’m lowkey impressed with JK Rowling’s ability to retroactively write-in politically right on messages."

"Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald" UK Premiere - Red Carpet Arrivals

JK Rowling has previously made comments about characters that weren't reflected in her work. Source: WireImage

Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling is being roasted on social media this morning, following her claims that characters Albus Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald were sexually involved.

Speaking in a special feature for the Blu-ray edition for Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, Rowling said: “Their relationship was incredibly intense. It was passionate, and it was a love relationship. But as happens in any relationship, gay or straight or whatever label we want to put on it, one never knows really what the other person is feeling. You can’t know, you can believe you know.

“So I’m less interested in the sexual side—though I believe there is a sexual dimension to this relationship—than I am in the sense of the emotions they felt for each other, which ultimately is the most fascinating thing about all human relationships.”

Twelve years after Rowling first announced that Dumbledore was gay (despite there being no mention of his sexuality in any of the Harry Potter books or movies), many fans were left feeling that her comments were another example of too little, too late.
While some fans argued that sexuality should be left out of the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts stories, others lamented Rowling's habit of retroactively claiming diversity and representation.

Whichever camp you're in, the responses have been well worth the controversy.

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Published 18 March 2019 11:14am
Updated 18 March 2019 11:16am
By Samuel Leighton-Dore


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