Ralph Fiennes has mounted a vocal defence of Harry Potter author JK Rowling, saying that the “abuse directed at her is disgusting”.

In an interview with the New York Times, Fiennes discussed his role as Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter films and reportedly “bristled” at the controversy surrounding the writer. Fiennes said: “JK Rowling has written these great books about empowerment, about young children finding themselves as human beings. It’s about how you become a better, stronger, more morally centred human being. The verbal abuse directed at her is disgusting, it’s appalling.”

He added: “I mean, I can understand a viewpoint that might be angry at what she says about women. But it’s not some obscene, uber-right-wing fascist. It’s just a woman saying, ‘I’m a woman and I feel I’m a woman and I want to be able to say that I’m a woman.’ And I understand where she’s coming from. Even though I’m not a woman.”

The Harry Potter author has been accused of being transphobic, an allegation she denies.

Rowling has been subject to threats on social media since publishing an essay on gender identity in 2020, which sparked furious rows over gender identity and trans rights. In August she tweeted a death threat she received after expressing concern over Salman Rushdie, after he had been attacked on stage.

In his New York Times interview, Fiennes also expressed his distaste for “cancel culture”, saying: “Righteous anger is righteous, but often it becomes kind of dumb because it can’t work its way through the grey areas. It has no nuance.”

Fiennes also said he had initially been reluctant to take the role of Voldemort, saying: “I was a bit sniffy, I think, initially. I thought, ‘Oh, this is a children’s fantasy thing. I’m not sure.’”