Wasn’t aware of JK Rowling’s anti-trans views: Keira Knightley

Los Angeles: Oscar-nominated actress Keira Knightley admitted that she wasn’t aware of author JK Rowling’s anti-trans views before joining the cast of ‘Harry Potter’ in ‘Pottermore Publishing’ and Audible’s audiobooks.

“I was not aware of that, no. I’m very sorry,” Knightley told ‘Decider’ of the boycott.

“You know, I think we’re all living in a period of time right now where we’re all going to have to figure out how to live together, aren’t we? And we’ve all got very different opinions. I hope that we can all find respect,” she added.

The ‘Pride & Prejudice’ and ‘Atonement’ fame star will be portraying the role of Professor Dolores Umbridge, who served as the secondary antagonist of the fifth novel, ‘Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix’.

In the story, she has been sent to Hogwarts by the Ministry of Magic to take power away from Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore. Imelda Staunton played the role in the film series.

Rowling’s feud with former ‘Harry Potter’ star Emma Watson made headlines recently. The author, who has received backlash for her alleged anti-trans views, blasted the actor for talking about her on a podcast.

Knightley was last seen in ‘The Woman in Cabin 10’, a 2025 psychological thriller film based on a novel by Ruth Ware.