Tom Felton of Harry Potter fame is facing criticism after he said that JK Rowling should be praised for “bringing joy to so many different generations.”

According to the Daily Mail, Felton said in an interview with Radio 4: “I can’t speak for what other individuals have said. I am constantly reminded that the Potter-verse, certainly when we were finishing the films, there was an expectation that the fandom would be dwindling slowly over the years, whereas most fans that say hello to me, shout ‘Potter’ or ‘Draco’ at me weren’t even born when the books were being made.”

“I am quick to remind myself and others that Potter for some reason has brought more people together across the world and more generations than probably anything else has in the past 20 years and I’m quick to celebrate that,” he went on. “It came from one person and that’s her so I’m very grateful.”

https://twitter.com/Lachlan_Edi/status/1579526701624987649?s=20&t=faOqJjX4JEEZ24e_y2BGRQ

Trans activists have since come out in droves to bash the actor, with one calling him a “crawling little snake.”

Oh so JK Rowling is the one being attacked, and her attacking the trans community on a daily basis is conveniently ignored? Fuck off. Tom Felton can fuck off as well, crawling little snake. Thankfully Watson and Radcliffe have publicly totally distanced themselves. pic.twitter.com/y9bXRnqIDq

— aes (she/her) (@strengthtodream) October 10, 2022

JK Rowling has become one of the trans community’s public enemy number ones, after she spoke out defending women’s rights in December 2019. Her support of biological women led to backlash from other Harry Potter stars, including Emma Watson and Daniel Radcliffe.

“Trans people are who they say they are and deserve to live their lives without being constantly questioned or told they aren’t who they say they are.

‘I want my trans followers to know that I and so many other people around the world see you, respect you and love you for who you are,” said Watson in a tweet.

Trans people are who they say they are and deserve to live their lives without being constantly questioned or told they aren’t who they say they are.

— Emma Watson (@EmmaWatson) June 10, 2020

Daniel Radcliffe also released a comment around that time, saying: “Transgender women are women. Any statement to the contrary erases the identity and dignity of transgender people and goes against all advice given by professional health care associations who have far more expertise on this subject matter than either Jo or I”

“To all the people who now feel that their experience of the books has been tarnished or diminished, I am deeply sorry for the pain these comments have caused you,” he continued. “I really hope that you don’t entirely lose what was valuable in these stories to you.”