![This Man Has Made Possibly The Scariest Halloween Costume Ever BOO!! Did I Scare You?? I'm A Job Application 😂😂😂 is a reaction meme originally posted by X (formerly Twitter) user @zilinski212 in 2019. The meme shows a man wearing an "Application for Employment" form as a mask with cutouts for his eyes and mouth. The meme is often used to mock someone for displaying jobless behavior online.](https://i.kym-cdn.com/featured_items/icons/wide/000/025/022/boo.jpg)
![Why Is 'Hogwarts Legacy' So Controversial? The Contentious 'Harry Potter' Video Game Explained why is hogwarts legacy so controversial explainer](https://i.kym-cdn.com/editorials/icons/mobile/000/005/342/Hogwarts_Legacy_explainer_banner.jpg)
Why Is 'Hogwarts Legacy' So Controversial? The Contentious 'Harry Potter' Video Game Explained
Five years ago, the release of an open-world video game in which the player enters the world of Harry Potter and roleplays their Hogwarts dreams would have been greeted with cheers from millions of Potterheads around the globe. On Friday, such a game will come out, but the feelings and reactions across social media are ones of dread, excitement, outrage or confusion.
It's rare that a game that is otherwise, by most accounts, pretty good generates as much controversy ahead of release as Hogwarts Legacy has, as the game has led to massive flame wars, calls for boycotts and harassment across social media.
So what's all the controversy and viral debate about regarding Hogwarts Legacy exactly? Here, we'll break down the various political culture wars Hogwarts Legacy finds itself at the center of, starting of course, with the woman who dreamt up the Harry Potter universe: J.K. Rowling.
![Game is banned from /r/gaming I A note about Hogwarts Legacy from the /r/gaming team (self.gaming) submitted 4 hours ago by Auto Moderator - announcement Hey gang, You may have noticed that /r/gaming doesn't have discussion of Hogwarts Legacy, despite it being one of the most talked about games of the year. This is by design. After seeing how virtually every thread about the game in the run-up to launch swiftly devolved into a debate on the franchise creator's personal views which run contrary to Rule 9 of /r/gaming, the moderator team has come to the conclusion that we are unable to provide a platform for discussion of this game while remaining an inclusive community. Should you be interested in discussion of the game, /r/harrypottergame is a great spot for you.](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/002/527/608/b12.png)
The "TERF" Controversies of J.K. Rowling
When Hogwarts Legacy was first announced in September 2020, the question on top of many interested parties' minds was, "Will J.K. Rowling be involved with the game?" This was important because Rowling was deep in the multi-year process of obliterating the goodwill she had with many of her millennial, often left-leaning Harry Potter fans by repeatedly making contentious statements and getting labeled as a "Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminist," or TERF.
From 2018 to 2020, Rowling on numerous occasions voiced controversial opinions about transgender people – some perceiving her statements as implying they were sexual predators – and capped it off with a blog post titled "TERF Wars" that erased any doubt from the minds of many about whether Rowling was not an ally to the trans community. Harry Potter actors Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson also distanced themselves from her at the time, and it soon felt like anyone who was trans or a trans ally was doing the same.
![Notafootstool's tweets Noel is entering peak holiday spirit @notafootstool Replying to @jk_rowling I grew up as a trans child reading your books as an escape. I would often pick out names from characters to give to myself, before I ever felt comfortable in who I was. This decision, to support people that hate me, and want to do me harm. It brings me to tears... Why. Why? 8:09 AM · Dec 19, 2019 · Twitter for Android 417 Retweets 8.1K Likes Noel is entering peak holiday spirit @notafootstool 3h Replying to @notafootstool and @jk_rowling When I was little, my dream was to one day ask you how people like me would have been accomodated for in hogwarts.. I'm afraid that my dreams might have been crushed if I ever got that chance. 27 68 53 3.1K Noel is entering peak holiday spirit @notafootstool 1h I say this because of the trans youth out there, kids that might have the same questions I used to have. What would you say to them? 27 10 18 733](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/001/677/417/9ef.jpg)
This proved to be unfortunate timing for Hogwarts Legacy developers Avalanche Studios, for while they were in the midst of bringing a Harry Potter video game to life, the series' author was arguably souring the Harry Potter brand for some of the game's intended audience.
The game even had to clarify that Rowling had no hand in creating it, but for many, this wasn't enough because Rowling would still see royalties from the game using her IP. Calls for boycotting Hogwarts Legacy began a full two years before the game was to be released.
![I want to fly on a broom. | /r/dankmemes Queer people o their way to buy Hogwarts legacy despite all of Rowling's b------- because it looks actually good ONE COPY AND PLEASE DON'T TELL MY FRIENDS.](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/002/522/146/116.jpg)
Lead Game Designer Troy Leavitt and GamerGate
Hogwarts Legacy's developmental period wasn't free of its own set of political controversies aside from Rowling. In early 2021, it was revealed that Troy Leavitt was hired as Legacy's lead game designer. Leavitt developed a reputation during GamerGate for supporting the movement and being anti-feminist, also reportedly supporting John Lasseter (a Pixar exec who was fired for sexual misconduct in 2017). With the game already in hot water on account of Rowling, Leavitt ended up resigning from the game's development shortly after his pro-GamerGate history was exposed.
The Goblin Rebellion Criticism / Racist Jewish Caricatures
In March 2022, another secondary controversy hit Hogwarts Legacy. One of the games' plot points involves a goblin uprising against the Wizarding World. The Harry Potter universe has long been widely criticized for purportedly using goblins as racist caricatures of Jews, and the reported plot of players quelling a goblin rebellion raised alarm bells for some potential gamers. For example, one potential fan quipped, "Hogwarts Legacy will have you fighting goblins who want civil rights."
Transgender Character / Sirona Ryan
Lastly, shortly before the game's release, it was revealed there would be a trans character in Hogwarts Legacy. Soom speculate this may have been an attempt at damage control on the part of Avalanche Games, but whatever the case may be, the news did little to quell the growing backlash — particularly because the character's name was "Sirona Ryan." This seemed to be in line with how Rowling named non-cis, non-white characters in the Harry Potter series, like giving the one Asian character the name "Cho Chang" and the one Irish character the name "Seamus Finnegan."
'Hogwarts Legacy' faces criticism for the game’s name of trans character, Sirona Ryan.
'Harry Potter' fans have called out J.K. Rowling in the past for giving racist names to non-white characters, such as Cho Chang and Kingsley Shacklebolt. pic.twitter.com/LnRFhohtso— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) February 7, 2023
J.K. Rowling Naming Characters Memes
Although this meme trend actually predates Hogwarts Legacy, parodies of the perceived manner in which J.K. Rowling names characters from Harry Potter (particularly certain minority characters) began seeing a notable resurgence online leading up to the game's release date. Such memes referencing Hogwarts Legacy were sparked by the previously mentioned transgender character Sirona Ryan, though many parodied other stereotypes in reference to this.
![JK Rowling giving names BRUNOSTORM @seekingbroo Replying to @Game_Revolution JK Rowling giving names Australian Kangaroo Spidervenom Japanese = Sushi Temaki Mexican = Ricardo Guacamolez Islamic Allahu Akbar Brazilian = Rio Soccersamba Russian = Vladmir Vodka Homossexual = Sergay Lovecock Italian Alfredo Bolognese = 3:07 PM. Feb 6, 2023 192.5K Views](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/002/527/805/e7c.jpg)
![JK Rowling Picking a Name for a Transgender Character manina dress tady secretboy sexina predatorè eve apple beardly womene phillia pedona they themmington sirona ryan can transgender be mexican?](https://a.kym-cdn.com/assets/blank-b3f96f160b75b1b49b426754ba188fe8.gif)
Release Week: Boycotts and Harassment
Rowling's TERF tendencies only became more pronounced in the weeks leading up to Hogwarts Legacy's February 10th release date, putting some reviewers and potentially interested gamers in a difficult situation.
On February 6th, the first slew of reviews came out, and while many said the game was very good, reviewers were also forced to contend with the fact that the game they enjoyed lines the pockets of a person who some perceive as a controversial figure that belittles the trans community. As such, IGN placed an inset in its review detailing its thoughts on J.K. Rowling.
"IGN has always and will continue to champion human rights causes and support people speaking with their wallets in whatever manner they choose," they wrote. "We’re choosing to expose and address the views of the franchise creator separately from our consideration of the work of the hundreds of game developers and evaluate Hogwarts Legacy as it stands, leaving behind-the-scenes context to be considered in addition to that evaluation, rather than in place of it, so that it can be weighted according to your own values."
![Every one of these quotes is real PS5. "9 OUT OF 10" "MAY NOT BE THE MOST PIGN "NOT PARTICULARLY PROFOUND OR ORIGINAL" another direct quote from IGN PORTKEY GAMES HOGWARTE FAIRLYLEGACY IGN YOU'LL BE PAINFULLY DISAPPOINTED" IMPRESSIVE TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT -also IGN GLITCHYâ„¢ -the same IGN review "CURSED WITH A LACK OF ENEMY VARIETY" -IGN "DICEY PERFORMANCE...SUFFERED FROM JUST ABOUT EVERY ISSUE" -IGN said this LACKLUSTER MAIN STORY" IGN again B "WHETHER IT'S ETHICAL TO PLAY IS A SEPARATE QUESTION" -actual quote from what it is, again, a 9.0 score review from IGN imgflip.com](https://a.kym-cdn.com/assets/blank-b3f96f160b75b1b49b426754ba188fe8.gif)
Calls for boycotting the game intensified over the week, even leading to harassment of those who chose to play the game or stream it. The Twitch channel Girlfriend Reviews was harassed to the point of tears during its pre-release stream of the game despite the couple noting they had received a free review copy and were donating proceeds from the stream to The Trevor Project.
Twitch chat bullies streamer for playing Hogwarts Legacy to the point of making his girlfriend cry pic.twitter.com/bod3A5DvMz
— Dexerto (@Dexerto) February 7, 2023
At the time of writing, there are still three more days until Hogwarts Legacy comes out and there's no indication that the discourse will get less toxic when the game actually releases.
What is 'Have They Streamed that Wizard Game?'
Following the game's early preorder access on February 7th, many Twitch streamers began livestreaming Hogwarts Legacy leading up to release and were subsequently bombarded with targeted harassment. Around this time, Twitter user and web designer @iamsamgibbs created a website called Havetheystreamedthatwizardgame.com that was designed to show what streamers were actively playing the game. Using this tool, many streamers (such as Girlfriend Reviews) were then targeted with harassment by opponents of the game online.
![Have they streamed THAT Wizard Game? Sam Gibbs @iamsamgibbs Introducing havetheystreamed thatwizardgame.com - find out if anyone you follow on twitch has streamed THAT new wizard game ALT Streamer have they streamed THAT wizard game? OR Login with Twitch to check if anyone you follow has played THAT wizard game Login with Twitch → 7:20 AM Feb 6, 2023 6.5M Views 655 Retweets 4,680 Quote Tweets 2,732 Likes Search →](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/002/527/944/d48.jpg)
Is J.K. Rowling Involved in Hogwarts Legacy or Making Money From the Game?
According to reports, J.K. Rowling had no involvement with the development of the game, including characters, design and overall themes. However, she will reportedly receive royalties for its success as the original creator and owner of the IP.
![Boycotting is good but don’t be an a------ to others | /r/dankmemes This one sparks joy. H BVODM This one does not spark joy. Not buying Hogwarts Legacy because you disagree with JK Rowlings beliefs Calling other people transphobic for buying the game themselves](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/002/516/272/829.jpg)
For more information, check out the GotFunnyPictures article on Hogwarts Legacy.
Top Comments
Sumarios
Feb 07, 2023 at 11:25PM EST
Sumarios
Feb 08, 2023 at 10:57AM EST in reply to