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On Saturday, J.K. Rowling made controversial comments on Twitter about trans people that upset and angered many. It began with a joke about menstruation and went downhill from there, especially once she tried to clarify and double- then triple-down on her comment. It prompted a massive backlash, including among those love her Harry Potter books. Now Harry Potter himself, Daniel Radcliffe, has joined in the fray.

The actor posted his statement on the site for The Trevor Project, the non-profit devoted to suicide prevention among LGBTQ+ youth. Radcliffe didn’t come out swinging, but nor did he go easy on the author who made his name.

“I realize that certain press outlets will probably want to paint this as in-fighting between J.K. Rowling and myself, but that is really not what this is about, nor is it what’s important right now,” Radcliffe wrote at the outset. “While Jo is unquestionably responsible for the course my life has taken, as someone who has been honored to work with and continues to contribute to The Trevor Project for the last decade, and just as a human being, I feel compelled to say something at this moment.”

In her tweets, Rowling called into question gender fluidity, writing, “If sex isn’t real, there’s no same-sex attraction. If sex isn’t real, the lived reality of women globally is erased.”

Radcliffe didn’t condemn Rowling’s words, but he did bluntly contradict them. “Transgender women are women. Any statement to the contrary erases the identity and dignity of transgender people and goes against all advice given by professional health care associations who have far more expertise on this subject matter than either Jo or I.”

The actor went into statistics on the staggering number of transgender and non-binary youth who report discrimination, and implored those who don’t take the matter seriously to educate themselves. He ended with a message to Potter fans who were distraught by their creator’s comments:

To all the people who now feel that their experience of the books has been tarnished or diminished, I am deeply sorry for the pain these comments have caused you. I really hope that you don’t entirely lose what was valuable in these stories to you. If these books taught you that love is the strongest force in the universe, capable of overcoming anything; if they taught you that strength is found in diversity, and that dogmatic ideas of pureness lead to the oppression of vulnerable groups; if you believe that a particular character is trans, nonbinary, or gender fluid, or that they are gay or bisexual; if you found anything in these stories that resonated with you and helped you at any time in your life — then that is between you and the book that you read, and it is sacred. And in my opinion nobody can touch that. It means to you what it means to you and I hope that these comments will not taint that too much.

You can read Radcliffe’s full statement at The Trevor Project.

Following a nearly six-month hiatus, Friends returned to streaming services in late May, materializing on HBO Max after previously being one of the crown jewels of Netflix. A reunion special was supposed to bow, too, but the pandemic forced that to be delayed. Still, the occasion has prompted plenty of fresh reflections on the perpetually popular program, and among these is cast and crew pointing out how it could have stood to be a lot more diverse.

Last month, Lisa Kudrow said she didn’t think the show would be “all-white” were it made today, echoing earlier comments made by one of her colleagues, David Schwimmer. Now one of its creators is saying much the same thing. According to Deadline, Marta Kauffman, who launched the show with David Crane, was a guest at the virtual version of the ATX Television Festival, and she acknowledged that the show, set in New York City, was a little too white.

“I wish I knew then what I knew today, I would have made very different decisions,” Kaufman admitted. “We’ve always encouraged people of diversity in our company, but I didn’t do enough. Now all I can think about is what can I do, what can I do differently. How can I run my show in a new way? That’s something I wish I knew when I started showrunning but all the way up through last year.”

Despite admitting that the Friends that launched in 1994 would not look like a Friends launched in 2020, Kudrow did defend it, saying it managed to include plenty of cultural milestones, including having an episode with a lesbian wedding. “There was a guy whose wife discovered she was gay and pregnant, and they raised the child together?” Kudrow said in May. “We had surrogacy, too. It was, at the time, progressive.”

Back in January, Schwimmer told The Guardian he was “well aware of the lack of diversity” on the show, and that he campaigned to have Ross date non-white women. “One of the first girlfriends I had on the show was an Asian-American woman, and later I dated African American women,” Schwimmer said. “That was a very conscious push on my part.”

(Via Deadline)

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The majority of the nation’s movie theaters have been shuttered for nearly three months now, though the industry’s been cautiously optimistic that they could open in some capacity not too too far from now. The plan being thrown about was that the majority of them, some 90%, open on July 17, i.e., the date Christopher Nolan’s Tenet has kept even as the majority of Hollywood releases have been rescheduled. But according to The Hollywood Reporter, California is weighing the idea of opening them much, much earlier than expected.

As per the report, California state officials are considering opening multiplexes as early as June 12, i.e., by the end of this week. In fact, it is “expected” that Governor Gavin Newsom’s office will give the official go-head very soon.

There are, of course, some restrictions:

Newsom’s edict is expected to require that theaters limit capacity to 25 percent, or no more than 100 people per auditorium, whichever is less, sources say. If all goes well, this rule is expected to relax after about two weeks, giving exhibitors enough time to ramp up before Tenet arrives.

July 12 is also when parts of California will be open for the first time in months, among them, according to ABC 7, schools, day camps, bars, gyms, campgrounds and professional sports, albeit also with modifications. The Los Angeles area is one of the largest moviegoing markets in the nation.

Most movie theaters across the country closed down on March 20 as the country went into quarantine to slow down the coronavirus pandemic. Only drive-ins and a handful of independent theaters have remained open during the crisis.

(Via THR)

Tonight, in the barfoid-free With Spandex WWE Raw open discussion thread:

Christian will return to Raw tonight to host a special edition of “The Peep Show,” with his longtime friend and tag team partner Edge as the guest.

The Rated-R Superstar is preparing for what may be The Greatest Wrestling Match Ever against Randy Orton, with The Viper gloating about setting the perfect trap for the WWE Hall of Famer. What will Edge have to say just six days before WWE Backlash? (via WWE.com)

It’ll be fun to see what Christian thinks about Edge being one half of The Greatest Wrestling Match Ever. Jealous, probably! Also scheduled for the show are the new Women’s Tag Team Champions, Bayley and Sasha Banks, another Charlotte Flair vs. Asuka match, and, I shit you not, an “Olympic Decathlon” between the Street Profits and the Viking Raiders. You know what’d be an even better Olympic event? Wrestling.

As always, +1 your favorite comments from tonight’s open thread and give them a thumbs up and we’ll include 10 of the best in tomorrow’s Best and Worst of Raw column. Make sure to flip your comments to “newest” in the drop down menu under “discussion,” and enjoy the show!

Veterinary clinics see all kinds of things on any given day. Unlike medical professionals that treat humans, vets and vet techs treat a wide variety of species—and they also have to deal with people bringing in all manner of wildlife that have no business being at the vet.

Walter Brown is a vet tech at the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine. He’s also an aspiring comedian known as “Skinni,” and he’s begun mixing his professions by sharing veterinary advice on social media in the most entertaining way. A live video he shared on his Facebook page on Memorial Day weekend went viral, with more than 1.7 million views, as people discovered and shared his hilarious admonitions to leave animal “chirrin” alone when they’re out on a nature hike.

Brown wrote, “Let me nip dis one in da bud too…..leave these wild animals chirrin alone……..” and then offered this advice:

Brown shared another video this weekend, advising people in the South not to go running in the heat with their Nordic breed and Brachycephalic breed dogs. And again, he offers solid veterinary advice in a way that’s highly entertaining. Like, if someone’s going to lay out an admonishment to the public, it should be this man.

Seriously, can all public service announcements from here on out come from Walter Brown, please?

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Some good news and bad news. The good: There’s going to be a new Evil Dead movie. The bad: It won’t star Bruce Campbell. But you may have already suspected that. The cult film and TV legend with the world class chin retired from the role that made him famous a couple years ago, and he’s stood by his proclamation. Still, a new Evil Dead movie isn’t anything to sneeze at, right?

The news broke in an interview with Empire, in which the beloved actor revealed not only would he not be appearing in the latest film from the classic horror franchise, which began in 1981, but Sam Raimi wouldn’t be directing either. Instead it will be Irish filmmaker Lee Cronin.

“It’s called Evil Dead Now,” Campbell revealed. “Sam handpicked Lee – he did a cool movie called The Hole In The Ground. We’re going to get that sucker out as soon as practical.”

Campbell didn’t offer too many specifics, though he did imply Evil Dead Now will feature a female hero. So did Fede Alverez’s 2013 stand-alone remake, which had no relation to the original films, nor with the subsequent TV show Ash vs. the Evil Dead, which brought Campbell back to the role over the course of three seasons.

One thing he did say was Evil Dead Now will be “more dynamic,” though he didn’t specify whether he was comparing it to the 2013 Evil Dead or Ash vs. the Evil Dead (or, really, any of the previous entries). “We just want to keep the series current,” Campbell said. “And the mantra, really, is that our heroes and heroines are just regular people. That’s what we’re going to continue.”

In addition to starring in Ash vs. the Evil Dead, Campbell served as executive producer, and both he and Raimi will be involved in this new one on the production side. But it sounds like Campbell is cool with leaving Ash on the shelf. He told Empire that going forward, the franchise will have to function without him. “Which is fine,” he added. “And liberating.”

(Via Empire)

The NBA’s impending return later this summer in Orlando, Florida at Disney’s Wide World of Sports has been approved by the NBA and NBPA, with some pending negotiations taking place this week regarding some financials and, most notably, how they will schedule the 2020-21 season.

The timeline for this season’s return is set, with teams going to Orlando in early July for a quarantine period before beginning practices and scrimmages, with games in the 8-game run to the playoffs starting on July 31. Then there will be a play-in tournament in the West, followed by a regular postseason with seven-game series throughout. One of the big questions facing the NBA’s return has been testing for the novel coronavirus, as it remains the great unknown right now — and Florida is experiencing a spike in cases following the state’s reopening.

On Monday, The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor offered up some insight into the testing that will happen, as well as the protocols for a positive test or a player leaving the bubble — and how teams will be able to adjust rosters if a positive test happens.

If a player tests positive, they will need to quarantine for at least 10 days and have two negative tests before rejoining their team. The same is true if a player leaves the league’s Disney World campus, which will be closed off to the public. If a player leaves and returns, they will need to quarantine for at least 10 days and test negative twice before rejoining.

…

Playoff rosters will be finalized after the eight regular-season games, or “seeding games.” Once the postseason begins, only players who test positive for COVID-19 could be replaced, and only by two-way players. If a player suffers an injury, they can’t be replaced. Free agents can’t be signed at this time, no differently than any normal postseason.

This answers at least some of the questions posited about what happens for a positive test, and also shows how the league will enforce keeping players in the bubble. They are free to leave, but would have to sit out 10 days and have two negative tests to return. Still, the big question lingering over all of this is what happens if there is an outbreak on a team that impacts a number of players. Adam Silver wasn’t exactly forthcoming when asked about that on Inside the NBA, simply noting they can continue if there is a positive test, but not indicating the protocol for an outbreak within an organization and whether that would shut things down or simply cause that team to pull out of the postseason.

The hope, of course, is that we never have to answer that question and positive tests are limited, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility and it’s something to keep an eye on. Beyond that, teams will surely be being extra careful with star players interactions, as replacing a LeBron or Giannis with a two-way player in the playoffs would significantly alter the proceedings.