J.K. Rowling is returning an award that she received from the Kennedy family last year after she was criticized by Kerry Kennedy.
The “Harry Potter” author received the Ripple of Hope Award from the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights organization in December 2019. Kerry, who is the daughter of the late RFK, is the president of the organization.
Earlier this month, Kerry released a statement to say she had spoken with Rowling about the recent comments she made, which were widely viewed as transphobic.
“Over the course of June 2020 — LGBTQ Pride Month — and much to my dismay, J.K. Rowling posted deeply troubling transphobic tweets and statements,” Kennedy wrote in her statement.
She says she talked with Rowling “to express my profound disappointment that she has chosen to use her remarkable gifts to create a narrative that diminishes the identity of trans and nonbinary people, undermining the validity and integrity of the entire transgender community — one that disproportionately suffers from violence, discrimination, harassment, and exclusion and, as a result, experiences high rates of suicide, suicide attempts, homelessness, and mental and bodily harm. Black trans women and trans youth in particular are targeted.”
Click inside to see the statement that J.K. Rowling released…
JK Rowling responded on Thursday (August 27) with a statement on her website.
“Kerry Kennedy, President of Robert F Kennedy Human Rights, recently felt it necessary to publish a statement denouncing my views on RFKHR’s website. The statement incorrectly implied that I was transphobic, and that I am responsible for harm to trans people. As a longstanding donor to LGBT charities and a supporter of trans people’s right to live free of persecution, I absolutely refute the accusation that I hate trans people or wish them ill, or that standing up for the rights of women is wrong, discriminatory, or incites harm or violence to the trans community,” Rowling said.
She later continued in the statement, “In solidarity with those who have contacted me but who are struggling to make their voices heard, and because of the very serious conflict of views between myself and RFKHR, I feel I have no option but to return the Ripple of Hope Award bestowed upon me last year. I am deeply saddened that RFKHR has felt compelled to adopt this stance, but no award or honour, no matter my admiration for the person for whom it was named, means so much to me that I would forfeit the right to follow the dictates of my own conscience.”
People reports that after it was re-released in China last week, the fantasy children’s book turned movie franchise has made over $13 million in theaters, where it was shown in 4K and 3-D for the first time.
Now, factoring in the first earnings when it was released in 2001, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone has now made $997.8 million worldwide, nearing the $1 billion mark.
The movie actually set a new single-day gross record as the country re-opened its theaters after being shut down for months due to the pandemic.
The first film of the franchise centered on Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), who learns on his eleventh birthday that he is the orphaned son of two powerful wizards and possesses unique magical powers of his own.
After becoming a student at Hogwarts, he meets several friends (Emma Watson, Rupert Grint) who become his closest allies and help him discover the truth about his parents’ mysterious deaths.
Emma Watson portrayed a character inspired by Alexis Neiers on screen in The Bling Ring in 2013.
The movie centered on a group of infamous who tracked the whereabouts of famous celebrities, and then robbed their homes of riches.
Alexis is now speaking out about Emma‘s portrayal of the character inspired by her.
“The problem I had is with the comments she made about me and the role, despite the fact that she already knew that I was a convicted … like, the heroin part, the drug addiction part had already come out,” Alexis explained during an Instagram Live with Ziwe Fumudow (via). “So, I was actually in treatment at the time they were filming the movie.”
She went on, adding that she hoped Emma would have more empathy for her.
“I think [Emma] said something along the lines of like, ‘This girl’s the epitome of what I’m totally against and she’s disgusting,’ and you know at that point I already came out with the fact that I’ve been sexually abused throughout my childhood and was like a full-blown heroin addict at the time.”
At the time, Emma told W magazine that her character was “so different from me. How do I try and understand a young woman who loves these things so much that she is prepared to commit crimes to have them?”
After the crime spree in 2010, Alexis was charged with burglary and sentenced to 180 days in jail, three years of probation and a $600,000 fine.
Beauty and the Beast is back on top at the movies!
The 2017 live-action Disney film, which features stars like Emma Watson, Dan Stevens and Luke Evans is dominating at the box office, pulling in an estimated $467,000 at 527 locations, according to Deadline.
The movie’s success is due largely from drive-in theaters amid the pandemic, while movie theaters remain closed. It’s been 18 weeks since the major chains closed their doors.
Beauty and the Beast was the best-selling movie of 2017, garnering over $1.26 billion in global ticket sales.
“Its a fantastic feeling to be part of such a well loved movie. Beauty and the Beast is number one again, 174 weeks after it was first released world wide. 💥 🙏🏼,” Luke Evansreacted to the news.
Emma recently joined the Board of Directors of the fashion brand Kering, which owns Gucci.
“For me, sustainability is about the effects of today’s actions on our shared future,” she told Vogue. “As the youngest member of Kering’s board, I hope to influence decisions that will impact future generations and the world that we leave them.”
Little Women is nearing the $100 million mark at the international box office!
As movie theaters open overseas, the coming-of-age drama directed by Greta Gerwig generated $760,000 this weekend from 13 markets, Variety reports. That means the movie as raked in $99.5 million in foreign theaters.
Little Women originally opened in theaters in late 2019, making $108 million at the domestic box office and $207 million worldwide.
Many international theaters started closing back in early January because of the health crisis. Theaters overseas are now slowly starting to reopen with fans going out to see movies again.
After his co-stars, including Emma Watson and Daniel Radcliffe, voiced their support of the trans community and disagreement with the Harry Potter author, the 31-year-old actor, who played Ron Weasley, is now doing the same in a statement on Friday (June 12).
“I firmly stand with the trans community and echo the sentiments expressed by many of my peers. Trans women are women. Trans men are men. We should all be entitled to live with love and without judgment,” he said in a statement to The Times.
After setting off outrage with tweets, J.K. Rowling wrote a lengthy essay addressing claims that she’s transphobic, in which she further enraged many people: “I want trans women to be safe. At the same time, I do not want to make natal girls and women less safe. When you throw open the doors of bathrooms and changing rooms to any man who believes or feels he’s a woman – and, as I’ve said, gender confirmation certificates may now be granted without any need for surgery or hormones – then you open the door to any and all men who wish to come inside. That is the simple truth,” she wrote in the essay.
Emma Watson has spoken out on her social media regarding the anti-trans tweets from Harry Potter author JK Rowling.
The 28-year-old actress and activist showed her support for her trans fans on Twitter.
“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 started.
She went on, “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.”
Emma also revealed that she’s donated to UK charity, Mermaids, and Mama Cash, which both support the LGBTQ+ community.
If you haven’t seen, many of the Harry Potter stars including Daniel Radcliffe and Eddie Redmayne have also spoken out about Jo‘s transphobic tweets, which she defended.
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.
After the 30-year-old Harry Potter actress was met with some backlash online for merely posting three black boxes on her Instagram amid the Blackout Tuesday campaign on Tuesday (May 2) in support of Black Lives Matter protests following the murder of George Floyd, Emma spoke out in a series of posts afterward.
“I was holding off posting until #blackouttuesday ended in the UK.,” she captioned a piece of art.
“The Artwork of my brilliant dear friend @fahamupecou ‘White Lies, Subtleties, Micro-Aggressions, and Other Choking Hazards’ B R O K E N O P E N (poem + text from the series BLACK MATTER LIVES) by Dr Fahamu Pecou,” she went on to write, along with the entirety of the poem.
She also quoted Dr. Fahamu Pecou: “We can not be broken. We do not break. For too long we’ve been afraid that their violence would end us. But we are still here. Some they took, but they’ve all come back. They never truly left.”
“Say their names #AhmaudArbery #BreonnaTaylor #GeorgeFloyd,” she added.
“I stand with you,” she wrote in another post with a quote: “There is so much racism, both in our past and present, that is not acknowledged or accounted for. White supremacy is one of the systems of hierarchy and dominance, of exploitation and oppression, that is tightly stitched into society. As a white person, I have benefited from this..”
Surprise! All eight Harry Potter movies are currently available to stream on HBO Max that launched today (May 27)!
Currently available to stream are: “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” (2001), “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” (2002), “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” (2004), “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” (2005), “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” (2007), “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” (2009), and “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” Part 1 (2010) and Part 2 (2011).
The Harry Potter spinoff movies, Fantastic Beasts, are also available.
Logan Lerman just posted a fun shirtless video of himself in a pool during quarantine, trying to balance himself on a chaise lounge chair float.
“It is what it is,” the 28-year-old captioned the vid.
It’s funny because Logan plays an on-screen demigod, the son of the mortal Sally Jackson and the Greek god Poseidon in the sci-fi film series Percy Jackson (2010′s The Lightning Thief and 2013′s Sea of Monsters). Watch the funny video below!
Most recently, Logan plays Jonah Heidelbaum, a young mathematics whiz in the drama series, Hunters. Watch all ten episodes on Amazon Prime now!
Daniel Diemer plays leading man Paul Munsky in the endearing teen romance, The Half Of It, which currently scores an overwhelmingly positive 96% on Rotten Tomatoes.
The Alice Wu-directed film tells the story of Ellie Chu (Leah Lewis), a shy, straight-A, friendless Chinese-American high school senior who makes extra cash by writing papers for her fellow classmates. When she reluctantly agrees to help football jock Paul Munsky (Diemer) pen love letters for his crush, Aster Flores (Alexxis Lemire), the girl Ellie secretly crushes on, the unlikely trio embark on an unconventional love triangle.
Daniel, a handsome but soulful 23-year-old 6-foot-four Canadian actor, opened up to Just Jared about his favorite scenes from THOI, his favorite Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande songs to jam out to, and how he’s been spending his time during quarantine. Check it:
JJ: How did you get into acting? Have you taken any acting classes or coaching?
DD: I got into acting through a friend of mine in high school. She asked me and another friend if I wanted to skip English class to model for her art class. The art teacher introduced me to her son, a director, did a project for him and fell in love with it. I did one year of acting school and another year of part time acting classes after that.
JJ: How did you hear about THOI? Anything memorable happen at the audition, chemistry read, first table read?
DD: I got sent the audition from my managers in LA, and taped for the project from Vancouver a few times before coming down for the chemistry read. The most memorable part of that read was how quickly Leah and I became friends and connected. She’s amazing.
Click inside for more of Daniel Diemer’s interview…
JJ: Tell us about your character. How is Munsky similar and different to you?
DD: Munsky and I both really value working hard to be the best version of ourselves. Unlike Munsky, I’ve never scored a touchdown and I love to write. Still probably would have loved Ellie’s help with the letters though.
JJ: Ellie gets bullied quite a lot. Have you ever been on the receiving end of it before or witnessed it in person firsthand?
DD: In high school I definitely got bullied and I’ve seen a lot of it as well. Not going into details, it took a long time for me to learn how to stand up for myself as much as I did for friends of mine.
JJ: What was the most difficult scene to film?
DD: The scene with Paul and Ellie after the game near the vending machine. Just because of how sensitive and emotionally charged the whole scene was. Really grateful for Alice’s guidance throughout that one.
JJ: What was your favorite scene to watch in the film?
DD: I love the train scene! Seeing Paul and Ellie’s friendship grow from barely knowing each other to this really deep platonic love and culminating in such a cute way was amazing.
JJ: Do you believe that everyone has just one perfect soulmate out there? Are your own romantic and friendships just as nuanced as the movie?
DD: I think we have the chance at so many different soul-mates in so many different ways, both romantic and platonic. I would definitely say all my relationships have that type of nuance. I’m not great at surface level relationships so usually all my close friends and loved ones are really deep relationships.
JJ: You do a lot of chasing after bicycles and trains in this film. How out of breath were you?
DD: Haha, so much running. I trained for a month leading up to the film so survived it okay, but certain days I was definitely struggling when we hit hour 6 or 7 of straight running scenes.
JJ: Your on-screen family is in the sausage business. Who in real life makes the best sausages and what kind are they?
DD: Definitely connected to Paul with a love for cooking so I’d hope I could make you a delicious taco sausage at some point! Not sure I could claim anything close to “best” but they’re more than edible :)
JJ: What’s something people don’t know about Leah Lewis?
DD: I’m sure her fans are aware but even though it wasn’t her voice in the movie, she’s an incredible singer and I would follow her on IG just for the hope of listening to her sing in a post or story.
JJ: How is your quarantine going? How are you spending your free time?
DD: Just really thankful for everyone who’s currently working to allow us to stay at home while we flatten the curve of the virus. So far, I finished writing a book of poetry I’ve been writing for a couple years and been keeping healthy working out, cooking and watching Netflix.
DD: The whole Fearless album is great and just really nostalgic for me, and Ari’s “Break Free” since I’m also a big Zedd fan! (Daniel admitted his guilty pleasure is dancing in his kitchen to Tay and Ari.)
JJ: If you could only have one last meal, what would you be eating and who’s making it?
DD: I’d probably be eating my dad’s special Thai recipe with egg noodles, fresh veggies, beef and his secret sauce with Dutch pannekoek (pancakes) for desert. Drooling already just thinking about it.
The Half of It is currently streaming on Netflix. Check out the video below of Daniel with costars Leah Lewis, Alexxis Lemire and Wolfgang Novogratz taking the best friends challenge!
“The Half of It” Cast Take the Best Friends Challenge
Never Have I Ever is a new Netflix series created by Mindy Kaling that just premiered on the streaming service and you’re going to fall in love with Darren Barnet, one of the shows stars!
The actor plays Paxton Hall-Yoshida, who is a student retaking the year.
You might recognize Darren from his role as Young Jack on the hit series This Is Us or his work on Criminal Minds, Netflix’s Family Reunion, or Facebook Watch’s Turnt.
We caught up with Darren to learn more about him and you can check out 10 Fun Facts right here:
1. I am Japanese, Cherokee Indian, German, and Swedish.
2. I played basketball and Lacrosse in high school.
6. My grandfather was a world famous orchestra leader named Charlie Barnet.
7. I write and record hip hop music/lyrics.
8. I once raised my glass to Jennifer Aniston at Craig’s. We had a moment.
9. They shaved off half my eyebrows to play Young Jack in This is Us.
10. My character was originally named Paxton Hall in Never Have I Ever. Mindy Kaling changed it to Paxton Hall-Yoshida after she heard me speaking in Japanese with our AD.
His name is Leo Robinton, and he previously worked at a cannabis company in the Los Angeles area, though he apparently left that position last year.
“Emma and Leo did everything in their power to keep their relationship private,” a source told DailyMail. “After they were pictured kissing in October Leo removed himself from all social media in an attempt to protect their romance.”
A source also said she introduced him to her parents.
Emma and Leo were last seen together in December, and it’s unclear if they are still together.
Emma Watson said she has become “slightly fascinated by kink culture” because “they are the best communicators.”
The 29-year-old actress did an extensive interview with Teen Vogue and author Valerie Hudson where they spoke about feminism, marriage, #MeToo, and more.
“A lot of the healthiest relationships I’ve seen have been between same-sex couples because, I think, they have to sit down and agree [on] things,” Emmasaid. “They agree [on] things between them as opposed to [accepting] certain sets of assumptions and expectations that are made. I’ve also kind of become slightly fascinated by kink culture because they are the best communicators ever. They know all about consent. They [smash that stuff because they really have to get it — but we could all use those models; they’re actually really helpful models.”
Emma Watson is opening up about how her new movie Little Women relates to 2019.
The 29-year-old actress, who plays Meg March in the film, says that Jo’s storyline in the movie relates to what is happening to Taylor Swift in her battle to own her music.
Jo March, played by Saoirse Ronan, also struggles to own the copyrights to her work.
“It’s about believing in yourself and knowing your worth and owning your worth,” Emma told Variety about the film. “Right now, the Taylor Swift situation is a great example of, you know, you’re young and you’re talented and someone wants to buy your work, but having ownership at the end of the day is super, super important because you don’t know what someone’s going to decide to do with that.”
Tom posted a few photos of the former co-stars including Evanna Lynch (who played Luna Lovegood), Bonnie Wright (who played Ginny Weasley), and Matthew Lewis (who played Neville Longbottom).
If you missed it, Harry Potter fans went wild when “there was always something” between Emma and Tom on the set of the famous films. Rupert Grint, who played Ron, was the one to dish about their time on set!
See photos of the mini Harry Potter reunion over at
The star-studded cast has arrived at the premiere of Little Women!
Emma Watson, Timothee Chalamet, and Saoirse Ronan step out for premiere of their highly-anticipated new movie on Saturday night (December 7) at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
FYI: Emma is wearing a Balenciaga gown and Fred Leighton jewelry. Timothee is wearing an Alexander McQueen outfit. Saoirse is wearing Gucci. Florence is wearing a Valentino dress. Eliza is wearing a Khaite gown.
