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J.K. Rowling claps back over Dumbledore uproar

By Karen Butler
Author J.K. Rowling tweeted about backlash over Dumbledore's portrayal in the new "Fantastic Beasts" movie. File Photo by Hugo Philpott/UPI
1 of 2 | Author J.K. Rowling tweeted about backlash over Dumbledore's portrayal in the new "Fantastic Beasts" movie. File Photo by Hugo Philpott/UPI | License Photo

Jan. 31 (UPI) -- Writer J.K. Rowling addressed via Twitter criticism that the next Fantastic Beasts movie -- The Crimes of Grindelwald -- will not feature an openly gay Dumbledore played by Jude Law.

Asked at a 2016 press conference in New York if Dumbledore will be portrayed as openly gay and if the sequels to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them will explore a romantic relationship between Dumbledore and Johnny Depp's character Grindelwald, Rowling replied: "Well, I'm very comfortable with the question.

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"I can't tell you everything I would like to say because this is, obviously, it's a five-part story, so there's lots to unpack in that relationship. I will say that you will see Dumbledore as a younger man and quite a troubled man because he wasn't always the sage. He was always very clever ... but we'll see him at what I think was the formative period of his life. As far as his sexuality is concerned, watch this space."

But director David Yates said in an interview with Entertainment Weekly this week that there is nothing overt about Dumbledore's sexuality in The Crimes of Grindelwald.

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"Not explicitly," Yates said. "But I think all the fans are aware of that. He had a very intense relationship with Grindelwald when they were young men. They fell in love with each other's ideas, and ideology and each other."

His response did not sit well with some people on social media, who said they wanted to see Dumbledore clearly represent the gay community in the second film in the Fantastic Beasts series. The firestorm prompted a swift response from Rowling.

"Being sent abuse about an interview that didn't involve me, about a screenplay I wrote but which none of the angry people have read, which is part of a five-movie series that's only one instalment in, is obviously tons of fun, but you know what's even *more* fun?" Rowling tweeted Wednesday, along with a GIF of a man shaking his head and pointing a remote at the camera, as the word, "MUTE," appears next to him.

The older version of Dumbledore was previously played in the Harry Potter film franchise by Richard Harris and Michael Gambon. Rowling is the creator of both the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts stories.

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