'Harry Potter' Actor Calls Out Former Co-Star's Terrible’ Comments About Adult Fans
Jessie Cave is sticking up for grown-up fans of Hogwarts.
The actor’s “Harry Potter” co-star, Miriam Margolyes, who played Professor Sprout in the film adaptations, recently stirred up the internet by roasting adult fans of J.K. Rowling’s bestselling children’s novels.
Margolyes said during an appearance on New Zealand’s 1News last month, “I worry about [grown-up] Harry Potter fans. They should be over that by now.
“You know, I mean, it was 25 years ago, and it’s for children. I think it’s for children. But they get stuck in it,” she added at the time.
Margolyes, 82, shared that she considers “Harry Potter” to be “wonderful” and she’s “very grateful” for it, but she thinks some fans go overboard with their fandom.
“People say, ‘We’re having a Harry Potter-themed wedding.’ And I think, gosh, what’s their first night of fun going to be? I can’t even think about.”
Social media users on X (formerly Twitter) largely disagreed with Margolyes’ stance on an age limit for enjoying the beloved film series at the time.
Life is already hard enough, let people enjoy the things that brought them joy in their childhood in peace.
— I have so many questions? (@english_shamar) March 9, 2024
Miriam Margolyes' perspective is interesting, but i still find joy and nostalgia in the Harry Potter series
— ZAQ RIDER (@zaqrider) March 9, 2024
We still obsess over things that are WAY older than Harry Potter…Star Wars, Star Trek, Doctor Who, Dragonball, the list goes on…
— RETINA Prime (@RETINAPrime) March 9, 2024
Over the weekend, Cave, who played Lavender Brown in the films, slammed Margolyes’ comments while appearing on a Dream It Con panel.
“It’s such a shame that that happened,” Cave said in the YouTube clip uploaded on Mar. 23. “You know how she is — she’s just a bit funny. And I think she didn’t mean for it to be taken like that, I hope.”
The English actor continued, “Obviously, that’s terrible. ... I really don’t like that she said that. It’s such an amazing thing that Harry Potter has done. It’s created a community, it’s created a fan base that has aged and is still bonded through this thing, and it’s passed on to younger generations and that’s what is so amazing,” Cave added. “She probably just doesn’t understand that. ... Just let her be.”
Margolyes shocked fans again last year with her views on “Harry Potter” fandom after she admitted in an interview with British Vogue that the franchise “doesn’t mean as much to me as it does to [the fans]”.
“For me Harry Potter wasn’t important. I was very glad I got the part and I enjoyed being in it and meeting all the people, but it’s not Charles Dickens,” she told the outlet.