JK Rowling, the author of the beloved Harry Potter series, has faced significant backlash over her transgender views. While the author still enjoys support from her loyal fanbase, profits from her business ventures have reportedly had a significant drop in earnings.
According to a new report by Deadline, Rowling’s production company Brontë Film and TV has seen a 74% reduction in its profits. The production company was established in 2012 and was used to adapt the author's original to other media forms. Rowling founded the company with her literary agent Neil Blair, with the author being the majority shareholder.
The same report also indicates that Brontë Film and TV posted a pre-tax profit of £1.8 million in the 12-month period from March 2021 to March 2022. This is significantly lower than the £6.9 million the company reported over the same period in the previous year. Based on its UK Companies House filing, the company’s revenue was halved to £8.8 million.
Harry Potter Theatrical Productions, a subsidiary of Brontë Film and TV, posted revenue of £3.5 million which is 65% lower than its £6.6 million earnings in 2021. Its pre-tax profits were down 84% to £1.1 million.
The company earnings report stated that "lower income streams and profit shares from theatrical productions which were closed for a large part of the [financial] period due to Covid restrictions."
Rowling's trans beliefs first came under scrutiny in 2019 when she publicly expressed her support for a researcher who'd lost her job over comments she made about transgender people. Rowling tweeted her support for the researcher and expressed concern about the impact of transgender rights on women's rights. This sparked an immediate backlash from fans and members of the LGBTQ+ community, who accused her of promoting harmful and inaccurate ideas about trans people.
The controversy regarding Rowling’s trans beliefs has spilled over to the recently released Hogwarts Legacy. Many players and content creators have been harassed for simply playing the game.
The author, while firm on her beliefs, stated in her audio documentary, The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling, that she feared for her safety.
"Personally, it has not been fun and I have been scared at times for my own safety and, overwhelmingly, for my family's safety," Rowling said. "Time will tell whether I've got this wrong."
Despite the controversy, Brontë Film and TV still have ongoing projects. The sixth season of Strike, a BBC crime drama TV series based on Rowling’s Cormoran Strike book series, is currently being planned.
The upcoming season will adapt The Ink Black Heart, the most recent novel in the series that Rowling wrote under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. Production of the sixth season of Strike will reportedly start later this year and is targeting a premiere in 2024.
