London’s Comic Con pulls Harry Potter discussion panel after LGBTQ+ charity complained of ‘potential impact on trans individuals’ following backlash at author JK Rowling over her trans views

The MCM London Comic Comic Con has cancelled a planned Harry Potter themed panel from its October event after an LGBT group claimed it would not be a ‘safe and inclusive environment’.

Activists from the LGBT group Switchboard threatened to pull out of hosting the first pride lounge if the panel was allowed to partake in the event due to author JK Rowling’s historical ‘transphobic’ remarks.

The National LGBTQIA+ helpline claimed they had been ‘compelled to express their concerns about the potential impact on the community’ the panel would have in relation to ‘trans individuals.’

It said that the panel’s presence would not equate to MCM Comic Con providing the ‘safe and inclusive environment’ that it had promised but others have argued that the event’s decision to cancel is a ‘capitulation.’

The group claimed that Comic Con had been ‘receptive’ to its concerns and that their own space at the event would be a ‘sanctuary’ where LGBTQIA+ people could ‘connect with one another, and recharge during the event.’

Read more: London’s Comic Con pulls Harry Potter discussion panel after LGBTQ+ charity complained of ‘potential impact on trans individuals’ following backlash at author JK Rowling over her trans views