Dumbledore was gay — J.K. Rowling
This is not a joke.
This evening, again in New York City, this time at Carnegie Hall, J.K. Rowling dropped a bombshell on the Harry Potter fan community. When asked by a fan if Dumbledore ever loved anyone, J.K. Rowling replied Dumbledore was gay. Reports from the scene say a hush fell over the crowd and then it broke out in applause, to which J.K. replied that if she had known that would be the response, she would’ve revealed her thoughts on Dumbledore earlier.
She went on to say that while she was reading Steve Kloves’ script for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, she came across a passage in which Dumbledore was reminiscing about past loves, and she corrected it by crossing it out and scrawling “Dumbledore is gay” in the margin.
The quote comes from Beyond Hogwarts which is NOT affiliated with or approved by Scholastic Books, Bloomsbury, Warner Bros., or J.K. Rowling. I am not very familiar with the site and I am in no position to assess its credibility.
It appears, however, that the information about Dumbledore being gay is indeed accurate as it is echoed by reports from Time, USA Today and Yahoo! News.
I’m stupefied. Not that I think there’s something screwed about a gay headmaster although I always thought that the Dumbledore character was just eccentric. You know, the way that overly intellectual people (like nerds) are eccentric, having a tendency to choose isolation that they sometimes have difficulty with being sociable.
What I’m having some difficulty with is J.K. Rowling’s reason for not divulging Dumbledore’s sexuality earlier.
Reports from the scene say a hush fell over the crowd and then it broke out in applause, to which J.K. replied that if she had known that would be the response, she would’ve revealed her thoughts on Dumbledore earlier… Ummm, that’s intellectual dishonesty, I think, not divulging something because of uncertain response from readers. That’s like saying that the story was written for the purpose of pleasing the readers rather than writing for art’s sake.
Oh, well, it’s just a story and Dumbledore is just a fictional character. Still, it’s such a letdown to read Rowling’s reaction. I always admired her for her sharp wit and her undiluted sarcasm in her treatment of traditional institutions like media, government bureaucracy, politicians and even the myopia and hypocrisy of the average human being. Remember the exchange between Hermione Granger and the reporter Rita Skeeter in Order of the Phoenix?
“So the Daily Prophet exists to tell people what they want to hear, does it?” said Hermione scathingly.
“The Prophet exists to sell itself, you silly girl…”
Well, I can say the same about J.K. Rowling now.
Comments
23 Responses to “Dumbledore was gay — J.K. Rowling”We feast everyday!
Hey there
Well, I just think she didn’t divulge details of his sexuality earlier for the same reason that many Philippine actors who are gay and in the closet, still don’t discuss openly their sexuality. There’s still a lot of people that are uneasy with people from different walks of life, and it’s risky, it risks your success, which is why a lot of Philippine actors haven’t actually done it yet, same applies for Ms. Rowling and her books, especially since when she started, remember it was geared towards children, and many overconservative people still try to shield children from the realities of this world, different people and their sexualities’ included, a thing which later leads to intolerance of different people in the world.
Well, Dumbledore’s homosexuality might have been irrelevant in Books 1 through 4. But Books 5 to 7 are hardly geared for a very young audience. By the time Azkaban came out, teens and young adults were addicted to Harry Potter.
That’s true, but 1-4 were more for kids, and then she became more daring later, maybe she was just being hypocritical, hehe
I like reading your blog, it’s really informative and entertaining. Keep up the good work.
Thank you.
I agree that there was no need to tell the readers what Dumbledore’s sexual preference is. I don’t think he would have acted differently if he was gay or straight. I think he’s just a good person who cares for Harry and the wizarding world. Why do authors have to justify a character’s action by revealing perceived flaws? I don’t think being ay would have mattered.
When I read Deathly Hallows I had the feeling that the Grindelwald-Dumbledore friendship was, uhh, more than just friendship
and I definitely thought that the chapter about Harry in Rita Skeeter’s Dumbledore biography would insinuate that a homosexual relationship existed between Harry and Dumbledore. So I don’t know if she only confirmed this fact now because she was afraid of how people would react, or because she thought those hints would be enough. Or maybe she also thought revealing things like this months after the last book was published is a good way of sparking interest in the books again and making sure HP discussion boards stay active.
i was floored when i read that whole “dumbledore is gay” business. when i read book 7, i did find his relationship w/ grindewald interesting in that there was an air of secrecy about it. never thought about it until now. i’m like you, though, and i wonder why rowling never hinted at it before –she can be a master at subtletly and could’ve very well disclosed this “gracefully” (so to speak) earlier had she really wanted to. now, i kind of feel that it’s more of an after-thought than anything else.
Perhaps, someone pointed out that there was no character that gays could identify with and Rowling decided to be accommodating. Oh, I don’t know… the remark if just so OFF after all this time.
hi connie
i agree with you, the remark is just so off and untimely. or maybe, my colleague is right, so that those who hadn’t read HP books will be intrigued and read it, hehehe.
anyways, i added your blog to my links
Hi, Jary. There is an article in Salon that says Rowling may just be unable to stop telling stories. Great read.
Thanks for the Salon link, so I guess I read her hints in Book 7 correctly. It’s also worth considering that most of the series is told through Harry’s eyes. Except for a few scenes where we see Voldemort or Snape doing their dastardly deeds, or the very first scene where Harry’s brought to the Dursleys, we only know what Harry knows. Since Harry never found this out about Dumbledore, hindi siya na-reveal sa books. As for her not being able to stop telling stories, I guess when fans stop asking her questions, she will stop answering them
She kept saying “that’s how I always saw Dumbledore”…maybe she just made up her mind later?
I still like her. And to console myself, I will agree with Christianne and say: yep, that’s why it was never mentioned in the book.
But honestly, Dumbledore being so captured by Grindewald…I read that and it really struck me as gay. Howell.
Read In defence of Dumbledore if you have time. This site is one of the most respected source for Potter trivia.
Everyone keeps saying Rowling is brave for announcing that Dumbledore is gay. She isn’t heroic, she’s a coward. If she really wanted to make Dumbledore gay she would have written it into the story but she didn’t. Taking a true stand on an issue is tough and I understand that making Dumbledore gay in the Potter series may have effected book sales, but if she’s going to take a stand then take a stand. Making the statement that Dumbledore is gay without even writing the smallest hint doesn’t cut it. All she’s doing by making the statement now is lowering her credibility as a writer and insulting the gay community.
Perhaps that’s the reason why some rumours were spread in HP7 about an indecent tone on Dumbledore’s fondness of Harry. Maybe she was already alluding to the fact that Dumbledore is gay thus the rumours were not totally baseless.
In reply to Ms. Em Dy’s post, I don’t believe that being gay is any way a “perceived flaw”. Scientists have found even many gay animals in the wild, and that says a lot towards the ongoing research on the fact of being gay as something biological instead of as something environmental as most conservative Christian groups like to point out. Acceptance of all different types of people in this world is a virtue that God believes we should have.
Re #15. Jensen, if you read my entry as well as the comment thread, you would know that the use of the word “everyone” in your comment is a mistake.
Hi Connie,
I laughed when I read Dumbledore is gay. Actually,it’s “Sabi ko na nga ba” for me. When an HP movie had a new Dumbledore actor(the first one died),I observed that he was like Alfie Lorenzo (the gay talent manager of Juy Ann Santos), so I thought, “Bakit naman ganun ang kinuha nilang kapalit, parang bakla.” yun pala, bakla talaga. Hahaha.
I think her not divulging this info sooner is because she wants people to not forget HP, and make them talk about it, since she’ll be making an encyclopedia (is that right?) about it.
Ami, you mean Michael Gambon is gay? I saw him in The Omen (as Bugenhagen) and he didn’t strike me as gay.
Mae, an encyclopedia? Wow, no wonder she’s creating controversy.
Well said! I especially like the quote about “the prophet”. Having said that, I think we’re in no position to demand that JK Rowling should reveal Dumbledore’s sexuality in Harry Potter’s story. The book is about Harry Potter and Dumbledore’s role is that of Harry’s headmaster. The lesson we can learn from it is that gay men, just like their straight counterparts, can do their duties and responsibilities professionally and without any malice/sexual hindrances.
Me too. I also thought her comment was OFF.
Ah well, I guess she “needed” the controversy for the encyclopedia she’d be releasing. It’s not like waiting for the next book to come out right? Important stuff have already been answered in Book 7. It’s not like the encyclopedia will answer cliff-hangers or anything really interesting that people would look forward to it as much as they looked forward to the release of the seven books.
Did you know? She angered a lot of fans before the announcement because of an issue with her and Warner Bros. suing a non-profit group from India who made a replica of Hogwarts for a religious parade. Indian courts dismissed the case. A lot of fans got mad since it “didn’t seem like her” to sue like that since she used to be very supportive of for-a-good-cause stuff inspired by Harry Potter.