Actor David Tennant has called on author JK Rowling to stop spreading harmful ideas about transgender people, saying they are being treated unfairly by society.

Tennant made the statement while speaking on ITV's "The Assembly," where he addressed a group of neurodivergent young people.

Tennant, who played Barty Crouch Jr. in "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," responded to Rowling's recent celebration of a UK Supreme Court decision.

The court ruled that the words "woman" and "sex" in the Equality Act only apply to biological females.

Rowling supported the decision and shared her approval on social media.She also contributed £70,000 ($87,500 USD) to the organization that filed the case in court.

"I think the way the trans community is being demonized and othered is exactly the same" as what happened in the past to gay people, Tennant said.

According to JustJared, he was referring to a law from the 1980s called Section 28, which made it illegal to talk about homosexuality in schools. "We look back on that now as a medieval, absurd thing to try and say," he added.

Pedro Pascal, Tennant, and Others Call Out Rowling

While Tennant made it clear that he respects Rowling's work as a writer, he said, "I wish her no ill will, but I hope that we can all as a society, just let people be. Just get out of people's way."

This isn't the first time Tennant and Rowling have clashed over transgender issues. In June 2024, Tennant criticized politician Kemi Badenoch for wanting to ban trans people from single-sex spaces.

Rowling responded online, sarcastically offering her "thoughts and prayers" for Tennant when Badenoch later became her party's leader.

Other celebrities have also spoken out. Actor Pedro Pascal, who has a transgender sister, criticized J.K. Rowling's views in a comment on Instagram, describing them as "awful" and "disgusting."

Celebrities such as Nicola Coughlan, Charithra Chandran, and Bowen Yang have also publicly expressed their support for the transgender community, SoapCentral said.

This ongoing debate has drawn attention not just to Rowling's opinions, but to the wider fight for transgender rights in the UK and around the world. Many, like Tennant, are urging society to stop treating trans people as outsiders.

"Just let people be," Tennant said. "That's all we're asking."

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David Tennant, JK Rowling