J.K. Rowling mocks Vancouver park board after its apology over Harry Potter event

VANCOUVER — Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling says being disavowed by the Vancouver Board of Parks wasn’t “much of a blow” after its commissioners unanimously voted to apologize for a Harry Potter event opening in Stanley Park next month.

Rowling posted a screenshot on social media of board commissioner Tom Digby’s statement about how it had disavowed the author for her views on transgender issues.

The British author says she was unaware that the board had “avowed” her and posted that she would accept a “certificate of avowal” that she would frame hang over her computer and take a selfie with it.

The park board on Tuesday voted unanimously to apologize for the Harry Potter: A Forbidden Forest Experience event set to open on Nov. 7 in Stanley Park, after hearing from members of Vancouver’s 2SLGBTQ+ Advisory Committee.

Digby says the motion was to apologize for the harm caused to transgender people for hosting the event and to publicly disavow Rowling’s political activity against their community.

He brought the motion to the board, saying it was a concrete step to show where the board stands about “the lives and rights of transgender, gender diverse and two-spirit people in Vancouver.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 9, 2025.

The Canadian Press