EXCLUSIVE: JK Rowling’s production company Brontë Film and TV has posted a 74% drop in profits after Covid closed theatre performances of Harry Potter And The Cursed Child.
15.03.2023 - 03:15 / deadline.com
In the latest episode of the podcast The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling, which was released today, the Harry Potter author spoke about the reactions to her 2019 tweet in which she expressed support for Maya Forstater, a British researcher fired for comments interpreted as anti-trans, drew condemnation from GLAAD.
At the time, the Harry Potter author took to Twitter to speak out in support of Forstater, saying, “Dress however you please. Call yourself whatever you like. Sleep with any consenting adult who’ll have you. Live your best life in peace and security. But force women out of their jobs for stating that sex is real? #IStandWithMaya #ThisIsNotADrill”
“I knew it was going to cause a massive storm,” Rowling said in today’s podcast, saying that what came at her was “absolute fury.” The author related replies to her tweet in which some commenters called her a TERF — an acronym that stands for “trans exclusionary radical feminist” — another who wrote: “pretty sure that you and Maya share the same beliefs as Hitler and the Nazis…they gassed trans people” and yet another who wrote, “such a shame that you’ve become the evil that you taught us to stand up to. You’re on the wrong side of history with this one.”
But, the author said, “A ton of Potter fans were still with me. And, in fact, a ton of Potter fans were grateful for what I said.” Rowling said she received thousands of emails of support to her private email address. Still, she says in Tuesday’s podcast that the backlash did impact her.
“Personally, it has not been fun and I have been scared at times for my own safety and, overwhelmingly, for my family’s safety. Time will tell whether I’ve got this wrong. I can only say that I’ve thought about it deeply and hard and
EXCLUSIVE: JK Rowling’s production company Brontë Film and TV has posted a 74% drop in profits after Covid closed theatre performances of Harry Potter And The Cursed Child.
Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise’s daughter is shaking things up. Bella Kidman Cruise showed off a new hairstyle and thanked her stylist for making it all possible. She shared an image on one of her Instagram stories, showing off her shoulder-length dark hair.
A close friend of Paul O'Grady who saw the TV star on the afternoon of his death has paid tribute to his 'dear friend' after visiting him just hours before his 'unexpected' death.
Rage Against The Machine‘s Tom Morello has revealed that the band have not made any plans to reschedule their cancelled shows in North America and Europe.Speaking to Rolling Stone, Morello shared an update on the status of the band and frontman Zack de la Rocha’s injury after he tore his Achilles tendon last year while performing. Following de la Rocha’s injury, the band had to cancel their 2022 UK and Europe and their 2023 North American tour dates.When asked if the band will hit the road again once de la Rocha recovers, Morello replied: “We’ll see. If there is to be any more shows, we will announce it as a band.
according to local outlet RNZ.Kellie-Jay Keen Minshull — also known as Posie Parker — was in Australia as a part of her controversial “Let women speak” tour when a protester rushed forward and doused the activist with red liquid. Parker, 48, was then rushed by security forces to a waiting police car and fled the scene. The “Harry Potter” author condemned the attacks as “repellent” in a series of tweets.
Tom Hiddleston and his fiancée Zawe Ashton were spotted out and about with their first child as they enjoyed a walk in France. Marvel Cinematic Universe star Tom, who has played the Asgardian God Loki since 2011 and is awaiting the second season launch of his standalone show, recently welcomed his first child into the world.The secret birth was announced in October last year, with the family unit making their first public appearance last month during a walk in London.
Tim Burgess has announced that Tim’s Twitter Listening Party will be heading to Absolute Radio for a new six-part series.The Charlatans frontman started his Listening Parties – in which he invites artists to Tweet along track-by-track to provide insight on new and classic albums – in March 2020. This was in response to the first national lockdown and since then, there have been hundreds of instalments and two books about the popular online events.Now, Burgess will take the series to Absolute Radio for six weeks, beginning this Sunday (March 26) – you can listen to the first show here from 10pm until midnight.
The Great British Bake Off kicked off with a bang on Sunday night, as the popular Channel 4 baking show returned with a brand new celebrity series in order to raise funds for Stand Up To Cancer. In the first round of the charity edition, Friends superstar David Schwimmer took on Little Mix singer Jesy Nelson, comedian Rose Matafeo and actor Tom Davis as they were tasked with baking six savoury pies, six delicious macarons, and a 3D meringue of a Celebrity fail scene.
Tom Cruise was “a little sensitive” for missing the 2023 Oscars after Top Gun: Maverick was snubbed.Cruise, whose new film received six nominations, was not in attendance at the Los Angeles ceremony. According to Entertainment Tonight, this was because the actor is shooting Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part II on location in the UK.Appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Letterman said that the supposed production issues were “nonsense,” and that he should have attended to celebrate “his big jet pack Maverick show”.Kimmel then responded: “Yeah. It seems like he should’ve been there, but he was not there.
Love Island stars Tom Clare and Samie Elishi have been getting to know each other outside of villa life - with one of their first stops being Tom’s football club.The star, 23, got special permission to temporarily leave his club Macclesfield FC, where he plays as a forward, mid-season in order to enter the South African villa.Two months later, Tom is now back on his home pitch, this time with his new love Samie, 23, by his side, as the couple test their relationship outside the confines of the ITV reality show.The pair took to Instagram to share photos and videos of their day as they sat in the stands and watched a training session. Tom took Samie on a tour of the grounds and they later posed for a sweet photo together, with Samie saying how much she’d loved seeing her beau at his day job.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were not invited to Sir Elton John’s annual Oscars bash, a royal expert has said. The snub proves the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are “nobodies in Hollywood”, author Tom Bower added. Harry, 38, and Meghan, 41, failed to appear at any Academy Awards 2023 events over the weekend.
star David Schwimmer on the set of 's Stand Up to Cancer celebrity special. The 56-year-old actor is set to appear on the fundraiser, which helps to raise money for charity and will air in the U.K. on Sunday, March 19.In an interview with the U.K.
Michael Caine celebrated his 90th birthday on Tuesday, and commemorated the milestone with a superstar friend, Tom Cruise.English comedian and TV personality David Walliams, who was also in attendance at the event, shared some snapshots from the festivities, and the star was by Caine's side for the special event.«Happy 90th Birthday to the legendary Sir Michael Caine,» Walliams captioned a slideshow post, which included a photo of Cruise with his arm around Caine's shoulders as the pair smiled for the camera.Additional photos in the post show Cruise was seated right next to Caine during the birthday bash, as Caine addressed his fellow revelers while sitting in front of a big birthday cake.Cruise wasn't the only star to wish the two-time Oscar winner a happy birthday. star Mia Farrow took to Instagram to share her well wishes, alongside a few throwback photos of the pair from their younger days.«Happy 90th Birthday to Michael Caine, such a funny and wise friend over many years,» Farrow wrote.
Prince Harry has been accused of being “selfish” for continuing to bring up private moments from within the Royal Household, the latest being in his 90-minute interview with controversial trauma expert Dr. Gabor Maté, where he opened up about his upbringing in a 'broken home’.
“Ambiguity” around social media guidelines was to blame for the BBC Gary Lineker scandal, according to Ofcom boss Melanie Dawes, who was challenged on the “creeping politicization” of UK TV news during a committee hearing this morning.
Love Island viewers have become convinced that the recently evicted Casey O'Gorman and Rosie Seabrook have already broken up just days after they left the villa together. The duo had a rocky start on the show, particularly because Casey ditched fan-favourite Claudia Fogarty for new bombshell Rosie and left the former upset and crying for days. Yet just as they seemed to be building on their connection and growing closer, even forming a special bond with some of the other couples in the villa, they were voted out by the public for being the "least compatible" couple.
Tim Burgess has released the ‘Atypical Music EP’, which features remixed tracks from his latest double album ‘Typical Music’.The remix EP from The Charlatans frontman enlistS the help of English DJ and musician Andy Votel and Filipino singer-songwriter Eyedress. Votel has remixed two of the tracks (lead single ‘Flamingoes’ and ‘A Bloody Nose’) whilE Eyedress has delivered a new spin on the opening track ‘Sure Enough’.“‘Atypical Music’ is exactly what Andy Votel has specialised in over the last couple of decades,” said Burgess.
‘Riceboy Sleeps’ Scoops Top Canadian Film AwardAnthony Shim’s Riceboy Sleeps has won Canada’s biggest film award, the Rogers Best Canadian Film Award. The prize, decided by the Toronto Film Critics Association (TFCA), comes with a CAN$100,000 ($72,000) cash prize. Riceboy Sleeps beat nominees Clement Virgo’s Brother and David Cronenberg’s Crimes of the Future. The semi-autobiographical film explores the challenges of living between two cultures through the tale of a Korean immigrant single mother raising her son in Canada. Shot in the Greater Vancouver area and Korea, the feature world premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2022, winning its Platform Prize, and then played in Busan and a raft of other festivals. The win comes as Toronto-based distributor Game Theory Films gears up for the title’s Canadian release on March 17. The feature will also be released in Korea, Singapore and the US in the coming months. “The Toronto film community has been so good to us since TIFF where this crazy journey first began and I hope to make more films in the future that will warrant the same type of support,” commented Shim.
Former Manchester United midfielder Tom Cleverley has said that he wishes to return to the club in some capacity in the future having missed out on saying goodbye to the Reds back in 2015.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle named their second child Lilibet after welcoming their daughter together on June 4, 2021. As a touching nod to the late Queen Elizabeth II, Harry, 38, and Meghan, 41, decided to go with the beautiful name and the Queen was said to be supportive of their decision.