Keira Knightley has revealed that she wasn’t aware of the J.K. Rowling backlash before signing up for a Harry Potter audiobook cast. In September, Deadline announced that she’s lending her voice to Professor Umbridge in Pottermore Publishing and Audible’s Harry Potter: The Full-Cast Audio Editions.
Keira Knightley reacts to J.K. Rowling boycott
In conversation with Decider, Knightley shared that she wasn’t aware of Rowling’s boycott for her anti-transgender views and apologized. She said, “I was not aware of that, no. I’m very sorry. You know, I think we’re all living in a period of time right now where we’re all going to have to figure out how to live together, aren’t we? And we’ve all got very different opinions. I hope that we can all find respect.”
Director Simon Stone, who was also there to promote their new movie, The Women in Cabin 10, agreed to Knightley‘s point while sharing his own outlook on people’s different political issues. He added, “We all have hatred, deep hatred for someone in the universe—someone in the class. Let’s reduce it to classroom politics. There is always the kid that we cannot stand. I think we’d all agree that where that kid for someone else, too. “
He further explained, “Unfortunately, all sides of the political spectrum are currently trying to shut that kid’s voice down, but they don’t realize the irony of the fact that they’re also that kid for someone else. If we can have all have a moratorium on that, and just let chaos live for a little bit, we might find our way out.”
The star-studded Harry Potter audiobook will be released on November 4, 2025. According to the website, the entire audiobook series can be pre-ordered from Audible now. In addition to Knightley, voice cast members include Hugh Laurie, Matthew Macfadyen, Riz Ahmed, Michelle Gomez, Cush Jumbo, and others.
