"Absolutely fking not!": Queer directors refuse "Harry Potter" work over JK Rowling's transphobiahttps://www.lgbtqnation.com/2026/08/absolutely-fking-not-queer-directors-refuse-harry-potter-work-over-jk-rowlings-transphobia/ 🔗Daniel Villarreal (14 Aug 2026)
Two queer women directors, Ally Pankiw and Kate Herron, recently revealed that they turned down opportunities to direct episodes of HBO's upcoming Harry Potter TV series because of the transphobic views of its billionaire author J.K. Rowling.
In an Instagram post posted yesterday, Pankiw (who has directed episodes of the comedic series Shrill and The Great and the 2023 film I Used to Be Funny) shared an image of a text message exchange with her agent in which the agent asked, "I have an instinct on the answer but I feel compelled to ask. Harry Potter? Hard no?"
"Absolutely f[/b]king not!" Pankiw responded, adding, "lol... (But thank you for asking)." Pankiw wrote in the image caption, "It simply is this easy to say 'no' to funding transphobia."
In the comments of Pankiw's post, Herron (who has directed episodes of Loki, Doctor Who, Sex Education, and The Last of Us) wrote, "They've asked me twice and I've had to explain my answer is never going to change from a 'no.'"
Pankiw acknowledged Herron's comment, writing, "Also want to shout out the amazing @herronthatkate who also said 'no' ... twice! And that's actually hard!"
