Keira Knightley has said she was “not aware” of demands to boycott JK Rowling prior to joining the cast of new audiobook versions of the Harry Potter series. The actor, who voices Dolores Umbridge in the full-cast recordings, made the comments while promoting her Netflix film The Woman in Cabin 10.
Asked by Decider if she knew that “some fans are calling for a Harry Potter boycott”, Knightley replied: “I was not aware of that, no. I’m very sorry. 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.”
Knightley joins a cast including Cush Jumbo as narrator, Hugh Laurie as Albus Dumbledore, and Riz Ahmed as Severus Snape. Calls to boycott Rowling’s work have intensified since her reaction to the UK Supreme Court’s ruling on the legal definition of a woman, which she marked with a social media post of herself smoking a cigar.
Rowling recently responded to Emma Watson, saying the actor is “ignorant of how ignorant she is”, amid a rift over trans rights. Knightley expressed hope that “we can all find respect” despite differing opinions.
