Trans rights protesters demonstrate at Harry Potter flagship store opening on Oxford Street

Mixed · 2Protesters demonstrated for transgender rights outside the new Harry Potter flagship store on Oxford Street, London, on the morning it opened on Wednesday 4 November. 1 2 Centre · 1The Evening Standard counted a group of six people, who carried signs reading “protect trans lives” and “stop funding trans erasure” and used megaphones to chant “trans rights are human rights”. 1 Centre · 1Deadline, by contrast, put the group at around a dozen protesters standing to the side of the store with megaphones and placards, including “Trans kids deserve to grow up. Trans adults deserve to grow old.”, and said one protester held a transgender flag bearing the Hufflepuff crest. 3

Right · 1The Daily Express described signs reading “Protect Trans Lives” and “Trans Rights Now”, said the group blocked the pavement amid shoppers and traffic, and reported that one demonstrator's handwritten placard accused the shop of having "blood on your hands". 2 Right · 1The Express called the event a "tense standoff" with activists "refusing to move", citing a post from the fan account Wizards Rest that the protesters were "disrupting the event". 2 Centre · 1The Standard quoted one protester urging fans queuing outside not to visit, saying the group would protest all day and apologising for the noise, and citing the welfare of trans children. 1

Centre · 1An anonymous person told the Standard they wanted fans to keep enjoying the franchise while also supporting trans rights, and encouraged them to attend a local Trans Pride march. 1 Centre · 1Deadline reported that nearly 10 Metropolitan Police officers and a large number of private security staff were present, that the protest was peaceful while its reporter observed it, and that customers, many in Hogwarts house scarves, still appeared to be enjoying their visit. 3 Left · 1The Hollywood Reporter, citing the Standard, said protesters told people entering the store they should not read Harry Potter to children and then bring them to the shop, and that they drew the trans flag and messages such as “Buy another author” in chalk on the pavement; it also said police were called and stationed outside. 4

Centre · 1A protest organiser who gave only the name West told Deadline the aim was to raise awareness of Rowling's “disdain” for transgender people, accused her of “personally funding transphobia from the ground up” by donating to a UK campaign on the legal definition of a woman, and cited “extremely high suicide rates” among trans people when asked what the “blood on her hands” chant meant. 3 Centre · 1West defended chanting the slogan near families, saying they hoped parents would become aware and not take children to Harry Potter, and called the protest “completely peaceful, completely lawful”. 3 Left · 1Rolling Stone, by contrast, put the protesters at nearly two dozen, largely outnumbered by shoppers, and quoted West, described as a trans activist speaking to Variety, saying Rowling has the biggest impact on trans people's lives and that the franchise "is losing its popularity — and for good reason". 5

Left · 1The A.V. Club also put the protesters at around a dozen, said they met a nearly one-to-one police presence, and quoted the store spokesperson as saying “We support everyone’s right to the peaceful expression of personal viewpoints and look forward to a day full of magic.” 6 Mixed · 2A Harry Potter store spokesperson told Deadline the shop was “thrilled to open our doors” and supported “everyone’s right to the peaceful expression of personal viewpoints”; Rowling declined to comment to Deadline, which pointed to her recent X post saying trans rights campaigners advocate for women to lose sex-based rights, while Variety said representatives for Rowling and the store did not immediately respond. 3 7 Centre · 1The Standard placed the protest amid continued controversy over JK Rowling's gender critical views, and noted that cast members of the new HBO Harry Potter series, on which Rowling is an executive producer, have distanced themselves from her views while some have faced backlash and death threats. 1

Left · 2The Hollywood Reporter named Dumbledore actor John Lithgow, Bel Powley and Nick Frost among cast members who have distanced themselves from Rowling's views, and said Warwick Davis, who is set to play Professor Flitwick, also celebrated the opening. Rolling Stone said Lithgow considered quitting after learning the extent of Rowling's stance. 4 5 Left · 2Rolling Stone said Rowling donated £70,000 in 2024 to the For Women Scotland campaign behind the Equality Act ruling, and the Hollywood Reporter cited her creation of the J.K. Rowling Women’s Fund, which it described as a legal fund for people pushing anti-transgender views; both outlets describe her views as anti-trans in their own voice. 5 4 Centre · 1It also reported that a Good Law Project petition against themed Harry Potter Christmas lights on Oxford Street has been signed by more than 11,000 people. 1

Left · 1Variety added that the Oxford Street Harry Potter-themed Christmas lights are due to be switched on on 9 November as a tie-in with HBO's series, and that the Good Law Project petition argues the partnership would financially benefit Rowling and make transgender Londoners feel unwelcome. 7 Mixed · 2The 21,000 sq ft, two-floor shop at The Ribbon, near Oxford Circus, features a full-sized Knight Bus, a replica of the Leaky Cauldron, and, according to the Express, a Ukrainian Ironbelly dragon above a recreation of Gringotts Bank. 2 1 Centre · 2Fans queued outside, with online reports of waits of up to two hours, and actor Tom Felton, who played Draco Malfoy, was among the first to visit and praised the attention to detail. The Standard said it had contacted the shop for comment. Deadline called it the largest Harry Potter shop in the UK. 1 3

Right · 1The Daily Mail, which did not give a protester count, reported that hundreds of fans lined Oxford Street, that Warwick Davis was among those present, and that chants included “Trans rights are human rights”; it quoted a protester, Jazz Lander, 37, saying of Rowling: “On the one hand, she taught me how to read. On the other hand, she's trying to destroy all my civil rights.” 8 Right · 1The Mail said Rowling has denied her views are transphobic, saying she respects “every trans person's rights to live any way that feels authentic and comfortable to them”. 8 Right · 1On the Christmas lights, the Mail reported that the Mayor of London's office said the lights are arranged by the New West End Company, not the Mayor, while the company said it had no plans to pull them down and that the partnership with HBO Max is intended to celebrate the festive season; it put the number of emails sent to Sadiq Khan at more than 10,000, and said HBO confirmed the three child leads of the series would not attend the switch-on. 8

Right · 1The Mail added that the store is Britain's second official Harry Potter shop after King's Cross, and that a retail expert said Warner Bros was moving to “squeeze the oxygen out of the unlicensed market” of unofficial Harry Potter shops in the West End. 8