J.K. Rowling has said that she would never advocate for an actor to be removed from the upcoming “Harry Potter” television reboot due to their support for trans rights.

Paapa Essiedu, who will play Severus Snape in the new HBO show, is one of many film and TV professionals who signed a letter calling for more support for trans rights in the industry. Shortly after Essiedu’s appearance as a signatory on the letter emerged, Rowling took to social media to dismiss speculation that she would have him axed. 

“I don’t have the power to sack an actor from the series and I wouldn’t exercise it if I did,” she wrote in a post on X. 

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