The Museum of Pop Culture (Mopop) in Seattle, US, has removed all mention of J.K. Rowling from its

Lauren Heath-Jones | Planet Attractions | 15 Aug 2023


The Museum of Pop Culture (Mopop) in Seattle, US, has removed all mention of J.K. Rowling from its Harry Potter exhibits, citing the author’s transphobic views for the move.
The decision to scrub Rowling’s name from the displays in both the Fantasy: Worlds of Myth and Magic exhibition and the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame was taken by museum officials months ago but only came to widespread attention in August, after a transgender museum employer shared a blog post, entitled ‘She-Who-Must-Not-Be Named’, discussing the move on Mopop’s website.
The writer described Rowling as a “cold, heartless, joy-sucking entity” and her views as “super hateful and divisive.”
“We learned that You-Know-Who was a problem, which is why you’ll see the artefacts without any mention or image of the author,” the blog post said.
Rowling was inducted into the museum’s Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame in 2018 before her transphobic views were made public. While her name remains in the Hall of Fame, curators have made the decision to remove her artefacts from the gallery to “reduce her impact.”
“It’s not a perfect solution, but it’s what we were able to do in the short term while determining long term practices.”
Mopop chief executive Michele Y. Smith backed the move, adding that “all views stated by Mopop are vetted and delivered directly by the organisation.”
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