David Tennant appears to have made a subtle dig at J.K. Rowling when asked about joining the upcoming Harry Potter series.
The actor, who previously appeared in the franchise as Barty Crouch Jr. in film Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire, was appearing at Planet ComicCon when he was asked whether he would like to return.
The franchise is currently gearing up for an HBO TV adaptation of the bestselling book series, with Rowling involved in the show despite a fan backlash to her anti-trans statements.
Responding to the fan, Tennant said: “I mean, they’re great stories,” before suggesting that his “contribution has probably been made”.
David told off J.K Rowling very very well https://t.co/nkyZVk81PL pic.twitter.com/O7O80W8lHV
— 𝐀𝐲𝐥𝐢𝐧🍁 (@GoodOmensDT) March 22, 2025
He then appeared to allude to Rowling by saying: “I’m told there’s an executive producer who doesn’t love me on that show.”
It comes after Rowling took a swipe at Tennant last year after the election of Kemi Badenoch as the Conservative Party leader, with Tennant previously having criticised the Tory leader in a speech after being awarded the LGBT+ Celebrity Ally at the British LGBT Awards.
“I don’t wish ill of her, I just wish her to shut up,” he said. It came after Badenoch proposed the mandatory implementation of single-sex toilets in public spaces across Britain, claiming it would “end the rise of so-called gender-neutral mixed sex toilet spaces”. This provoked condemnation from transgender rights groups.
Rowling – who has drawn controversy in recent years for her anti-trans views – said Tennant’s words were “the utterances of the Gender Taliban”, who she claimed “receive special dispensation, for they are a holy caste”.
Tennant had also earlier called anti-transgender campaigners “a tiny bunch of little whinging fuckers who’re on the wrong side of history and they’ll all go away soon”, which Rowling also responded to.
“This man is talking about rape survivors who want female-only care,” she tweeted, “the nurses currently suing their health trust for making them change in front of a man, girls and women losing sporting opportunities to males and female prisoners incarcerated with convicted sex offenders.”
As well as Tennant, former Harry Potter stars including Daniel Radcliffe have spoken out against Rowling’s anti-trans views.
Meanwhile, last month it was confirmed that John Lithgow had been cast in the role of Albus Dumbledore in the Harry Potter series, while Paapa Essiedu and Janet McTeer are reportedly in talks to play Severus Snape and Minerva McGonagall. Over 32,000 children have auditioned to play the main characters.
