Death in Paradise star Ralf Little has posted a lengthy message on Twitter following criticism that he had retweeted JK Rowling on the social media platform. Ralf had been tweeting his support from the Black Lives Matter protests when a user wrote: "Mate no offence but you [were] retweeting JK Rowling last week who constantly attacks trans people." Ralf gave a passionate response, pointing out that he has been "very vocal" about trans rights.
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He wrote: "I hadn’t actually known anything about her stance on trans issues until today, so any RT-ing you’re talking about can’t have been made in that context anyway. I’m absolutely 100% certain I’ve never tweeted or RT’d an anti-trans message in my life, so I can only assume I’d RT’d one of her left-wing thoughts on the govt, Brexit... whatever. As it happens, I don’t agree with her opinions on trans rights."
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The actor continued: "I’m not convinced that a person’s opinion on one matter discounts all their opinions on other matters. If she was always spouting horrible right-wing propaganda I’d denounce her as loudly as I could. But she’s not. I disagree with her opinion, truly, but not sure I - a cis white male - have a right to tell her how she 'should' feel as a cis woman. All I know is, trans rights matter, and I will continue to speak up." He added: "I’m not going to boycott Harry Potter because a woman whose opinions I otherwise admire holds one - one - that I disagree with (albeit strongly). Human beings are complex, and cancel culture reduces people down to 'good' and 'bad' with no in-between."
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Ralf gave a lengthy response following criticism
He concluded: "That said, I very much don’t agree with her. To the point where, had you bothered to do any research before choosing to attack or try to shame me, you would find that in fact I have been very vocal on here about trans rights."
The original poster replied: "I agree with most of that and I'm happy you are on the side of us in the LGBT community but my point still stands retweeting her (whether that be an anti-trans tweet or not) is only strengthening her as a person and then strengthening her anti-trans hate." Others also had their say, with one writing: "You're a good guy Ralf and I agree that whoever attacked you should have done their research." Another added: "I've got to say that this is the best thread/statement I've read in days! It was really well said."