Pedro Pascal Doubles Down On J.K. Rowling Shade: “Bullies Make Me F*cking Sick”

Pedro Pascal is doubling down on his criticism of J.K. Rowling over the Harry Potter author’s celebratory comments regarding a recent United Kingdom Supreme Court ruling against the transgender community.

via: EW

In a new Vanity Fair cover story, the Fantastic Four star reflected on his now-viral moment in April, during which he slammed the controversial Harry Potter author in the comments section of an Instagram video after she publicly celebrated an an April 16 U.K. Supreme Court ruling that excludes transgender women from the legal definition of a woman under Britain's Equality Act.

Pascal — who is a longtime vocal advocate for the LGBTQIA+ community and has publicly supported his sister Lux, who is transgender — called Rowling's celebration "heinous loser behavior," and quickly made headlines.

Pascal told the outlet he briefly felt like "that kid that got sent to the principal's office a lot for behavioral issues in public schools in Texas feeling scared and thinking, 'What'd I do?'" as the comment began making the rounds on social media.

More importantly, according to Pascal, he was concerned whether his comment was helping or harming the community he strove to protect.

He recalled thinking, "'Am I helping? Am I f---ing helping?' It's a situation that deserves the utmost elegance so that something can actually happen, and people will actually be protected."

He added, "Listen, I want to protect the people I love. But it goes beyond that. Bullies make me f‑‑‑ing sick."

Pascal's other sister, Javiera, was staunch in defending her brother's comment, telling Vanity Fair: "He said that as the older brother to someone saying that our little sister doesn't exist."

The Last of Us actor took things a step further by wearing a "Protect the Dolls" T-shirt at the Thunderbolts premiere in London on April 22, a gesture of support to the transgender community.

Pascal wasn't the only celebrity who called Rowling, a self-described TERF (trans-exclusionary radical feminist), out for her glib response.

Bridgerton star Nicola Coughlan expressed her disgust toward the ruling and Rowling's advocacy by sharing an article from The Cut titled "This Is a New Low for J.K. Rowling" on her Instagram stories and writing, "Keep your new Harry Potter lads," in reference to the upcoming HBO series adaptation of Rowling's books. "Wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole," she added.

In a separate Instagram post, Coughlan announced that she'd set up a fundraiser for the trans charity Not a Phase. "Allies of the trans and nonbinary community, time to come together," she captioned the post. "F--- the Supreme Court, f--- the TERFs. Let's raise some money."

SNL star Bowen Yang also responded via social media, posting a photo of himself sternly glaring into the camera with a raised middle finger to his Instagram stories with the caption, "Absolute f--- u to jk rowling" with the transgender pride flag emoji.

Additionally, Sean Biggerstaff, who portrayed Oliver Wood in three of the Harry Potter films, reposted multiple posts directly criticizing Rowling and voiced his support for the transgender community at the time. Biggerstaff also responded to Rowling directly, writing "Bigotry rots the wit" in response to her post joking that her celebratory cigar was still a cigar even if it identified as a blunt.

He also directly responded to a post claiming that Rowling was "cast out for daring to defend women's rights," writing, "Christ, if that's what being cast out looks like I'll take some."

The author has repeatedly received criticism over the years for voicing anti-trans rhetoric, with original Harry Potter film stars like Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint even speaking out against her views.

In the wake of the backlash, HBO's Casey Bloys, the chairman and CEO of content at HBO and Max, addressed concerns that the new series would reflect Rowling's anti-trans sentiment.

"Harry Potter is not being secretly infused with anything," he said on The Town podcast. "And she's entitled to those views. And I think people are pretty clear that she's entitled to them."