Rupert Grint joins JK Rowling transgender row

Rupert Grint has become the latest Harry Potter cast member to speak out in response to author JK Rowling's recent comments on transgender issues.

In a statement, the actor - Ron Weasley in the Potter films - said "I firmly stand with the trans community".

"Trans women are women. Trans men are men. We should all be entitled to live with love and without judgment."

Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson have also voiced support for trans people following Rowling's remarks.

So has Eddie Redmayne, star of Potter spin-off Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and its sequel.

Grint, now 31, told The Times: "I firmly stand with the trans community and echo the sentiments expressed by many of my peers."

Harry Potter creator Rowling has faced criticism for posting tweets in which she took issue with the phrase "people who menstruate".

On Wednesday she said she had spoken about transgender issues in part due to her experience of domestic abuse and sexual assault.

Friday's edition of the Sun newspaper quotes Jorge Arantes, Rowling's first husband, as saying he was "not sorry" for slapping her.

Domestic abuse charities have criticised the paper for the article, with one saying it had "chosen to amplify the voice of a perpetrator".

In a blog post this week, Rowling wrote at length about her concerns around single-sex spaces and "erasing the concept of sex".

A school in West Sussex has dropped plans to name a house after Rowling, saying it did "not wish to be associated" with her views.

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