All mention of JK Rowling removed from museum’s Harry Potter exhibit

Rowling is 'a bit too vocal with her super hateful and divisive views to be ignored'

The Seattle-based Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP) has removed all mention of the author from their Harry Potter exhibit, labelling the 58-year-old a "cold, heartless, joy-sucking entity,” according to a blog post from May.

Project manager Chris Moore, who is transgender, authored the piece and claimed that they would “love to go with the internet’s theory that these books were actually written without an author."

The post continued: “But this certain person is a bit too vocal with her super hateful and divisive views to be ignored."

Moore said "for the time being", museum curators decided to remove any of her artefacts from the gallery to "reduce her impact."

While saying that wasn't the "perfect solution", Moore said it was an interim measure it could employ before determining a long-term plan.

The Daily Mail reported that MoPOP has kept the “Harry Potter” memorabilia on display, but Rowling’s name is not mentioned anywhere in the exhibit.

The blog went on to suggest Rowling supported antisemitic creators and, while writing Harry Potter, included several racial stereotypes. These included, the New York Post noted, the goblins of Gringotts, whose depiction has been compared to the Jewish community, or the fact that everyone in the books appeared to be white, as well as the lack of LGBTQ representation.

That had fostered a “super-chill outlook on the bigotry.”

The museum told The Telegraph: “MoPOP is proud to support our employees and unequivocally stands with nonbinary and transgender communities.

“In an increasingly divided world, pop culture can unite, inspire, and spark important conversations.

"Education and creative expression are the heart of our mission and in our commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility, we strive to elevate those that are left out of the mainstream pop culture conversation, by amplifying voices and stories that are not always seen on museum walls.”

Rowling went viral in 2020 after retweeting an op-ed piece that discussed “people who menstruate” and was seemingly offended that the article did not use the term “women.”

Several Harry Potter stars, including Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint, have distanced themselves from Rowling.

However, she has been supported by Ralph Fiennes, Miriam Margolyes, Robbie Coltrane and Evanna Lynch and in recent months there has been talk of the "uncancelling of JK Rowling."

Earlier this year, Rowling claimed that her comments were “profoundly” misunderstood and in the trailer for her forthcoming podcast, The Witch Trials of JK Rowling, she said: “I never set out to upset anyone."

“However, I was not uncomfortable with getting off my pedestal.”

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