Yesterday, we learned that actor Nicholas Hoult, who was slated to play Professor Gilderoy Lockhart in HBO's upcoming "Harry Potter" series, had been replaced with Kit Harrington, the "Game of Thrones" actor who voiced Lockhart in the full-cast audio editions of the books.
The timing of it struck this writer as odd. Hoult's casting was announced 12 days ago, and filming for season two was slated to begin this month. Why would he drop out for "scheduling conflicts," as initial reports said? Turns out, this writer's gut feeling was correct. It wasn't "scheduling conflicts" but more of the trans activist crowd backlash rearing its ugly head. See, they've been angry for years after author J.K. Rowling came out in favor of women's rights amid a rising tide of trans bullying.
The Metro reports Hoult dropped out after fan backlash over his involvement in the project because of Rowling's views on trans issues. But that's not the most interesting thing in this story. No, the Metro accused Rowling of Holocaust denial.
Were I the editor of Metro, I'd not have accused JK Rowling of holocaust denial. That this defamation is contained here is f***ing wild: https://t.co/41xti2cip8
— euan mccolm (@euanmccolm) August 25, 2026
It is wild.
Days after his name was revealed, it was announced that Hoult wouldn’t be the conman author-turned-Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher after all, due to ‘scheduling conflicts’.
Instead, Game of Thrones’ Kit Harington will return to the role after voicing Lockhart, a character who was originally played on screen by Kenneth Branagh, in a recent audio series.
Unfortunately for Hoult, his willingness to participate has been enough for fans to write him off as someone who does not stand with the LGBTQ+ community.
Hoult himself has not yet spoken out on his exit, but some fans are calling for an apology to the trans community.
‘Citing “scheduling conflicts” and not the eighteen elephants in the room is such coward s**t,’ wrote CookieBaBaYT on X.
Phione_V2 added: ‘Sucks to see so many people jumping at this pitiful part in an evil show, Hoult, you are not forgiven!’
Can we stop catering to these outrage mobs? But we digress.
The Metro just claimed Rowling was a Holocaust denier.
This is why articles - all articles - need to be checked at a senior level by an editor. This piece doesn't even attempt to shield itself, however slightly, by citing someone claiming that JK Rowling has engaged in Holocaust denial. It just states it as fact. https://t.co/iE6tyPLmbB
— Daniel Sugarman (@Daniel_Sugarman) August 25, 2026
And it leaves the publication wide open to lawsuits. Sugarman grabbed a screenshot of the article before it was stealthily edited.
Aaaand the bit of the sentence accusing JK Rowling of Holocaust Denial has now vanished from the Metro piece.
— Daniel Sugarman (@Daniel_Sugarman) August 25, 2026
Screenshots remain though, obviously pic.twitter.com/86U7GUShod
The claim remained on the website for 18-plus hours.
The timeline at the top of the article very helpfully (as far as JK Rowling's lawyers are concerned, I imagine) makes it clear that the piece was published at 6:22pm yesterday and updated at 1:17pm today.
— Daniel Sugarman (@Daniel_Sugarman) August 25, 2026
So that's 18+ hours with the claim up, then.
Simply incredible.
The Metro has accused JKR of Holocaust denial, a claim about as factual as Imane Khelif’s womanhood. I hope she gets an apology. pic.twitter.com/ocayytTOzN
— Jo Bartosch (@jo_bartosch) August 25, 2026
It may be in the print edition as well.
Presumably, this means it may have appeared in the print edition too? https://t.co/jcc2ehObX7
— For Women Scotland (@ForWomenScot) August 25, 2026
Graham Linehan is asking for pics of the print edition.
If anyone has a print edition of @MetroUK calling Rowling a holocaust denier, please upload a photo! https://t.co/U6yeWhwhdL
— Graham Linehan (@Glinner) August 25, 2026
The Metro did issue an apology, too.
They've added this to the top..
— Sara (@SeeRedWoman1) August 25, 2026
'An earlier version of this story wrongly stated that JK Rowling had been ‘engaged in Holocaust denial’. This follows claims in March 2024 when Ms Rowling was accused on X of denying aspects of the Holocaust, an allegation which she strenuously…
That's the lawyers trying to mitigate the damage.
Either way, this is still defamation. They stated that Rowling was a "Holocaust denier" as a matter of fact and didn't remove it for more than 18 hours.
As of right now, Rowling hasn't commented on this yet.
But we're sure she, or her lawyers, will.
Good luck in court, Metro.