Her controversial comments about the transgender community have led to criticism against Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling, but for Helena Bonham Carter, the backlash has been overkill. At this point, it's no secret at this point that Rowling has come under fire for her views on transgender rights, as many stars of the Harry Potter franchise continue to weigh in on the matter in various interviews. Daniel Radcliffe has been among those to say he disagrees with Rowling, while Ralph Fiennes recently described the online "verbal abuse" that the author has suffered as "disgusting."

For Carter, she isn't passing judgment on Rowling. The actress feels that the controversy against Rowling has been "extreme," arguing that the author has her reasons for having her opinion. Rowling has previously described having trauma from sexual assault which has swayed the way she feels about hot-button issues involving transgender rights, such as allowing whether to allow transgender women access to women's restrooms and changing rooms. Carter wants people to keep this in mind before harshly judging Rowling. As Carter recently told The Times:

"It’s horrendous, a load of b******s. I think [Rowling] has been hounded. It’s been taken to the extreme, the judgmentalism of people. She’s allowed her opinion, particularly if she’s suffered abuse... Everybody carries their own history of trauma and forms their opinions from that trauma and you have to respect where people come from and their pain. You don’t all have to agree on everything – that would be insane and boring. She’s not meaning it aggressively, she’s just saying something out of her own experience.”

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Helena Bonham Carter Joins Warner Bros. in Standing by J.K. Rowling

Bellatrix-Lestrange.Harry-Potter-Series
Warner Bros. Pictures

J.K. Rowling was not present in HBO Max's 20th anniversary special for the Harry Potter movie series. That led to rumors that Warner Bros. would be ultimately cutting ties with Rowling because of the ongoing criticism that follows the author on social media. However, a statement released by the studio directly squashed those rumors, suggesting they were looking forward to collaborating on more projects with Rowling for years to come. Rowling has also said that sitting out the HBO Max special was her own idea, and not a result of the backlash.

"I wasn't [excluded from the special], actually," Rowling told Graham Norton in August. "I was asked to be on that. And, I decided I didn't want to do it. I thought it was about the films more than the books, you know? Quite rightly. I mean, that was what the anniversary was about. So, yeah. No one said don't come. I was asked to do it, and I decided not to."

Even with a shake-up with the Warner Bros. Discovery merger, the plan is still to continue a working relationship with Rowling at the company. New boss David Zaslav recently revealed the goal of making more movies in the Harry Potter franchise with the assistance of Rowling. With that said, there are no plans at this time to develop another installment of the Fantastic Beasts franchise or any other Harry Potter film.