Eddie Redmayne criticised for playing trans role in The Danish Girl after his JK Rowling comments divide fans

Eddie Redmayne has faced backlash from fans after condemning those who send abuse to JK Rowling.

In the Daily Mail, the actor voiced support for his “trans friends and colleagues” but also called out the “vitriol” that JK Rowling receives on social media.

He called the online abuse “absolutely disgusting” but also condemned those who harass trans people as being “equally disgusting”.

JK Rowling attracted controversy in recent months after making remarks on transgender women which have been perceived as transphobic. She denies that she's transphobic.

In June, Redmayne disagreed with JK Rowling’s comments in a Variety interview.

But Redmayne, who famously played a trans character in 2015, has now angered some of his fans with his most recent comments.

In particular, it has renewed anger about a cis man having played a trans woman in a film.

One user shared a video from the Netflix documentary Disclosure about men playing trans women.

In the video, actress Jen Richard speaks about Redmayne's role as a trans woman in The Danish Girl.

She says:

It reduces that person... to a performance of transness, to a performance of femininity, rather than as a whole person of whom transness is one aspect of.

At the time of The Danish Girl’s release, Redmayne faced criticism for playing a trans woman.

In a 2018 GQ interview, he noted that he was unsure if he would have taken the role in retrospect.

indy100 has contacted Eddie Redmayne for comment.