Gay HBO CEO Casey Bloys is unbothered by working with JK Rowling on a new Harry Potter series, despite the author’s extreme anti-trans views.

“I’ve said this before, but the decision to be in business with J.K. Rowling is not new for us,” Bloys said during an appearance on the podcast, The Town with Matthew Belloni. “We’ve been in business for 25 years. We already have a show on HBO from J.K. Rowling called ‘C.B. Strike’ that we do with the BBC.”

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One activist called Rowling’s recent move “some serious Voldemort villain sh*t.”

He went on to argue that her personal views don’t affect the content she creates and that she is “entitled” to believe what she wants.

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“I think it’s pretty clear those are her personal political views. She’s entitled to them. Harry Potter is not being secretly infused with anything, and she’s entitled to those views, and I think people are pretty clear that she’s entitled to them, and if you want to debate her, you can go on Twitter.”

Advocates have criticized both the network and actors signed on to the new series, though Bloys said last year that Rowling’s anti-trans views “haven’t affected the casting or hiring of writers or production staff.”

This is also not the first time Bloys has dismissed Rowling’s hostile views. In 2023, he affected indifference when asked about the controversy surrounding the author.

“We’re comfortable being in the Potter business,” Bloys said. “That’s a very online conversation.”

He said that conversation is “very nuanced and complicated and not something we’re going to get into.”

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