This story originally appeared on Them.
Righteous mischief managed.
Protesters stormed the red carpet in support of transgender rights at a Thursday gala performance of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child in London’s West End, The Independent reported.
The masked protestors laid down on the red carpet as celebrities tried to make their way to the performance, a single-night version of Cursed Child, as opposed to the two-performance version at the beginning of the show’s run. Since 2020, Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling has used her public platform to publicly speak out against trans equality, creating a legal fund last year to support “women’s sex-based rights.”
In video of the Thursday night incident obtained by The Independent, security guards are seen scrambling to remove the protesters, and dragging them off the red carpet by their arms as the activists shouted, “When trans rights are under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back!” Camera flashes from photographers added to the chaos of the scene.
At least three of the protesters wore shirts that said “Rowling Money Kills” and one activist used a bullhorn to read a statement, sometimes unintelligible through the noise and shouting of the moment, to those present.
“She would rather police women’s space than support her trans sisters when they are under attack,” that person can be heard saying.
As the protesters were shuffled off the red carpet, another yelled, “Rowling funds transphobia! Boycott J.K. Rowling!”
Rowling, whose net worth was placed north of one billion U.S. dollars by The Times this year, has used her vast fortune to fund anti-trans initiatives. The J.K. Rowling Women’s Fund, created in 2025, is intended to bankroll cisgender women who are “fighting to retain women’s and girls’ sex-based rights in all aspects of life including the workplace, sports and clubs, and protected single-sex spaces,” per its website.
Rowling also reportedly donated about $88,000 to the anti-trans advocacy group For Women Scotland as they brought a historic case to the U.K. Supreme Court, in which the judicial body ruled that the legal definitions of “man” and “woman” in the U.K. would be based strictly on biological sex.
The protest comes just a few days after the BBC announced that Rowling’s fame and her “bitter online exchanges” would be the subject of a two-part documentary film, with the first half documenting her career ascent and the second focusing on her various controversies.
In August, Rowling shared a video on social media of Democratic New Hampshire state representative Jonah Wheeler sharing anti-trans talking points with the caption, “every word.” After receiving push back, the author offered a rare — and somewhat baffling — moment of support for health care sought by trans adults.
“It doesn’t remotely infuriate me,” she wrote in response to a since-deleted comment. “I’ve always believed that adults with intractable gender dysphoria may only find peace after surgery and taking hormones. I’m glad you’re happy.”
Get the best of what’s queer. Sign up for Them’s newsletters.
