JK Rowling under fire from US Bible belt after outing Dumbledore as gay
Harry Potter author JK Rowling
The 42-year-old Harry Potter author has become a hate figure to Christian evangelicals in the US since she outed Albus Dumbledore as gay.
The mother-of three, who is worth £545 million, told a New York audience that the much loved head of Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizadry was homosexual.
Talk shows in the Bible Belt have condemned her, web-sites have reviled her, and newspaper letter columns have been filled with complaints.
And there are fears it may affect profits at Warner Bros who have a further two films to make and a dvd on sale this Christmas.
Roberta Combs, president of the two million strong Christian Coalition of America, said: "It's very disappointing that the author would have to make one of the characters gay.
"It's not a good example for our children, who really like the books and the movies. I think it encourages homosexuality."
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Outed: character Albus Dumbledore, played by Michael Gambon, is gay, Rowling admits
She called for a ban on the books, saying : "I would never allow my own children or grandchildren to read the books or watch the movies, and other parents should do so too."
Jack M. Roper on television evangelist Pat Robertson's CBN (Christian Broadcasting Network) which called for a ban on Rowling's book, yesterday said: "Harry Potter, an orphaned witch, is one hero who has captured the innocent heart of many children.
"When such a hero uses evil as a problem solving tool, we need to be warned.
"Over time the child can become adapted to the dark world of witchcraft and not even know that it is dangerous.
"As a cult researcher for many years, I have seen contemporary witchcraft packaged in many seductive forms, and Harry Potter is the best.
"Potter makes spiritualism and witchcraft look wonderful."
One website received over 3,000 postings in a day - typical was the message: "I am a christian who supported these books as they brought the joy of reading back to sooooo many kids and adults.
"Now, I will make sure I throw away all the copies I have, and no one in my family will ever read that trash again. What a huge disappointment and great loss for so many kids who could have enjoyed these books.
"She just ensured that many, many, more people will not buy these books.
"Not only has she destroyed a great hero, but she has tarnished the entire series."
On-line reaction from some former fans has been vitriolic. Melissa Anelli, of The Leaky Cauldron Web site, said: "My inbox is full of people who wish to let me know that I'm scum for supporting this 'outing,; that J.K. Rowling should go back to the devil who spawned her, etc.
"It's really disgusting. We're trying to simply ignore it."
The revelation came during a question and answer session at Carnegie Hall. Rowling was asked: "Did Dumbledore, who believed in the prevailing power of love, ever fall in love himself?"
She answered: "My truthful answer to you... I always thought of Dumbledore as gay."
And afterwards she added: "I know that it was a positive thing that I said it, for at least one person, because one man 'came out' at Carnegie Hall. I'm not kidding."
Industry commentators noted that the outing came too late to affect publication of the seventh and final episode in the series Harry Potter and the All Hallows, which sold over 12m in the US alone.
They have sold over 335 million books in all.
But Harry Potter has been a bigger success on screen, with with five films so far grossing $4.47 billion - £2.3 billion - making it the biggest movie franchise ever.
Rebecca Traister, columnist on salon.com said. "It is possible it will have an impact, but pester power from children may win out.
"Christian evenagelists take a lot of things very badly. There has always been a very vocal group of people in the United Stateswho have objected to the Harry Potter books.
"It was a very smart thing to make this announcement after the books were finished. It is a neat trick philopsophicaly, but also economically to do it once all the kids that might have been kept away from the material have already read it."
Deborah Netburn of Hollywood's home town paper, the Los Angeles Times, added: "It felt like really big news that Dumbledore was gay. I don't think anyone had any inkling, and people were taken by surprise.
"People on the Christian right were already saying 'you can't read Harry Potter because magic is sacreligous.' This is a gift for them."
Yesterday a spokesman for Warner Bros said: "It's not something we would normally comment on."
