Paapa Essiedu rejects 'them and us' stance over J.K. Rowling
Paapa Essiedu doesn't want to take a "them and us" stance against J.K. Rowling and would rather just express his own views.
Paapa Essiedu doesn't want to take a "them and us" stance against J.K. Rowling.
The 36-year-old actor has defended his decision to take on the role of Severus Snape in HBO's Harry Potter adaptation amid controversy over the author's gender-critical views and insisted it is important to speak only about his own beliefs and the "creed by which [he] lives".
Paapa - who signed an open letter in support of the transgender, non-binary and intersex community shortly after he was cast in the series - told the new issue of Vanity Fair magazine: “I have been super clear about my position on this topic, and that is the reason why she spoke out about me.
“I’m really keen not to make a kind of ‘them and us’ dynamic here. I’m not really here to speak about Jo’s politics or to be a mouthpiece for her.
“I can only be really, really clear about what I believe and be consistent with that.
“I believe, in my bones, that trans people, queer people, people of all creeds and colour have got the right to be treated with respect and dignity and safety at all times - whether they’re in the workplace, whether they’re at home or in the street, whatever.
"That’s what I believe, and that’s the way that I choose to live my life. That’s the creed by which I live.”
The I May Destroy You star believes the new TV adaptation “has the potential to do really, really, really beautiful things" because it has so many positive messages.
He said: “When I come back to this story - this actual story - I’m thinking about the themes that it explores.
"Themes of forgiveness and good triumphing over evil, and of accepting people for who they are and allowing people to really be themselves within a world where anything is possible.”
Paapa, who has previously admitted he received racist abuse over his casting, is also heartened by the positive comments he's received about his involvement in the show.
He said: “I got a lot of love as well. That really fuels me as much as the hate.”
After the actor was among more than 400 famous faces who signed their name to a petition which called for the UK's entertainment industry to provide protection for transgender people following the Supreme Court's ruling that a woman is defined by biological sex, Rowling insisted she wouldn't want to see him ousted from Harry Potter.
Responding to an article pondering whether she'd remove him from the show over his views, she wrote on X: "I don't have the power to sack an actor from the series, and I wouldn't exercise it if I did.
"I don't believe in taking away people’s jobs or livelihoods because they hold legally protected beliefs that differ from mine.”
