Keira Knightley’s Harry Potter casting feels like a betrayal to fans like me

The latest Harry Potter adaptation casting is perhaps the most soul-crushing of all — and it’s not something I can magically brush aside.

It’s been confirmed that Keira Knightley will join the Audible book series as the voice of the universally despised Professor Umbridge when the wizarding franchise is adapted into a seven-part audiobook series.

The ensemble comprises more than 200 actors, some of whom are among the most esteemed in the business, from Hugh Laurie to Matthew Macfadyen.

In the latest casting announcement, Knightley’s name sits alongside Game of Thrones icon Kit Harington, Luther villainess Ruth Wilson, and One Day’s leading lady Ambika Mod, all of whose work I am a huge fan of.

However, when I read the Love Actually actress’ name on the list, it was a particularly sharp knife through the heart. I immediately began to grieve the love I have felt for someone with strong ties to the LGBTQ+ community.

By signing up for the project, with the first book to be released in November, I believe Knightley has sadly proven that even the stars who appear to have the most unwavering morals and unshakeable voices of allyship can be bought out – and it’s trans people who have the most to lose. 

In recent years, Harry Potter author JK Rowling has made no secret of her feelings towards the trans community, claiming – among other things – that there ‘are no trans kids’ and that no child is ‘born in the wrong body’. In my view, these are cruel comments in line with an archaic interpretation of womanhood.

Consequently, those signing on to work in projects that will further line her pockets have sparked outrage, alienating their once fiercely loyal fanbases for seemingly selling out the trans community.

So I can no longer support Knightley. Being a queer woman, a trans ally, and a Keira Knightley fan are – to my grave disappointment – now mutually exclusive.

Ever since I was a little girl, I have found solace in her work. I didn’t always understand why, though.

When I first watched Bend It Like Beckham in the early 2000s as a child, I had neither the vocabulary nor the awareness to articulate why the character of Jules Paxton made me feel seen or why her ‘friendship’ with Jess made my tummy flutter.

Fast forward a few years, grant me access to the internet, and open my eyes to the mere existence of homosexuality beyond Bible classes, and the fog was lifted. It dawned on me that my infatuation with the fictional footballer was due to the deep-set queer subtext of the character and her inherently lesbian traits.

I gradually came to realise that I felt things when Jules and Jess locked eyes across the pitch because they were speaking to me on an emotional level. From there, I was fully aboard the Keira Knightley train and became mesmerised by anything I saw her in, whether it be a romantic comedy or the British period dramas she’s grown synonymous with.

Her character in Pirates of the Caribbean oozed both beauty and power. Her later portrayal of Joan Clarke in 2014’s The Imitation Game as a companion and confidante to Alan Turing (a mathematical genius who was prosecuted for homosexual acts) was tear-jerking, to say the least.

Then, in 2018, she took the helm in Colette, a biographical drama based on the life of the French writer. Known mononymously, Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette was also bisexual, which she explored on the page in rule-breaking artistry.

At the time of the film’s release, Knightley never shied away from questions on queer topics, whether it be working with gay directors or expressing how she wanted the movie to open doors for other marginalised communities to raise their voices.

She even recalled going to prom with a female friend, who was gay, as a teen, and her outrage when they kissed on the night, only to find their photo wasn’t displayed on the wall as the others were.

‘I thought it was bulls**t at the time,’ she previously declared to Pride Source after their snap was not considered ‘appropriate’.

She added: ‘I just remember thinking that was stupid, and I think I’ve thought that — always along the line — any discrimination against people because of their sexuality has been utterly ridiculous.’

Colette marked a real turning point in Knightley’s career for me and, I imagine, her other queer fans. She was no longer playing roles with an underlying ‘is she or isn’t she?’ tone.

She had become intentional and explicit in her actions, and it was refreshing to have someone of her stature in our corner on the press scene, actively calling out for more LGBTQ+ stories to be heard.

When she was asked about the possibility of increasing her queer fanbase at the time, she said she was ‘thrilled, so thrilled!’

So, what’s changed?

At what point did this self-professed RuPaul’s Drag Race fanatic, who has openly backed a lesbian sequel to Bend It Like Beckham, decide to cast not only her gay fans aside, but our siblings in the community whose rights are under attack more so now than ever?

Keira ‘I’ve always had family with many gay friends, and people in the LGBTQ+ community have always been around me all my life’ Knightley, your words are no longer compatible with your behaviour, and if you assume that your queer fans will still back you by sweeping the whole Harry Potter thing under the carpet, you are mistaken.

To be revered and cherished by a queer fanbase is a privilege, and the biggest way to test the solidity of that support is by blindly assuming it is unconditional.

It is not, nor can it be in the current political and social climate. 

The LGBTQ+ community has undoubtedly helped to elevate Knightley to national treasure status. It’s painful to discover that while she has been happy to take our money, even she has a price.

What she’s being paid for the new Harry Potter role, I couldn’t say.

Clearly, if the cheque is fat enough, that once booming, unflinching voice of solidarity can be easily silenced.

Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing jess.austin@metro.co.uk. 

Share your views in the comments below.