Pedro Pascal is an actor who has starkly risen to fame in the last few years. His most notable works include Oberyn Martell in Game of Thrones, Javier Peña in Narcos, and Joel in The Last of Us. Despite being an amazing actor, Pedro has been a fierce defender of LGBTQ+ rights and has recently fired back against J.K. Rowling, who made some harsh remarks following recent anti-trans legislation in the UK.
Pedro Pascal, a Man With Values
Chilean-born Pascal is not one to shy away from issues to avoid ‘stirring the bucket’. There are many notable instances of him standing up for and giving a voice to the LGBTQ+ community. Long before J.K. Rowling, Pedro Pascal has publicly shared his open-minded views with his followers. One significant example was when he uploaded a post to Instagram with the caption, “Know who you are. Progress is inevitable.” The post highlighted the work of Cecilia Gentili, who was a stark trans activist before she sadly passed away at age 52.
Pedro Pascal’s unwavering support of the LGBTQ+ community was exemplified following the coming out of his sister in 2021. Pedro’s sister, Lux Pascal, came out as transgender to her brother via video call. The infamous Game of Thrones actor threw bigotry out the window and sweetly supported his sister. Lux even stated that the first thing he asked her after the news was if she was okay. Recently, the actor has been seen wearing a “Protect The Dolls” shirt on April 22 at a movie premiere. This shirt is part of a campaign by its designer to call out anti-trans propaganda that is happening globally.
J.K. Rowling Supports Anti-Trans Legislation
The conflict between Pedro Pascal and J.K. Rowling arose when the latter commented, “I love it when a plan comes together. #SupremeCourt #WomensRights.” This statement was meant to bring down trans people as it was supporting a recent ruling made by the United Kingdom government, which makes it so transgender women are now not legally recognized as women. It also opens up a path for discrimination, as transgender women can be forthwith banned from single-sex services like female-only gynecology.
Pedro was having none of that and fought back by saying, “Awful disgusting… heinous LOSER behavior.” Even actors who have worked for J.K. Rowling’s most famous ‘Harry Potter’ franchise do not support their creator. The three main actors of all the movies, Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint, have all publicly shamed J.K. Rowling’s words/actions. Daniel, who played Harry, even went so far as to write a letter to The Trevor Project to apologize to fans whose wizarding stories have been ruined by the reign of Rowling.
Concluding Thoughts
Pedro Pascal is an all-around amazing brother, human, and person. Being transgender has never been easy, and it is made perpetually difficult by individuals with a big voice who use it to put others down. Having someone as popular as Pedro standing up for the LGBTQ+ community may not fix all the problems they face. But at the very least, it may help people struggling to accept who they are feel heard, seen, and be able to be who they truly are.
