Trans People Launch High Street Protest Against Sale of Harry Potter Merchandise

Published on: 16 May, 2026
Updated on: 16 May, 2026

The campaign focuses on Harry Potter merchandise, says West

By David Reading

Trans rights activists launched a peaceful protest outside Waterstones in Guildford this afternoon (May 16), chalking messages on the pavement to draw people’s attention to the company’s marketing of Harry Potter merchandise.

Protest group Defund Transphobes says Harry Potter author JK Rowling uses money from the sale of merchandise to fund what they describe as her “anti trans campaign”.

The author is open about the fact that the JK Rowling Women’s Fund (JKRWF) offers legal funding support “to individuals and organisations fighting to retain women’s and girls’ sex-based rights in all aspects of life including the workplace, sports and clubs, and protected single-sex spaces.”

The protest group believes this is a serious threat to trans people across the UK.

One of the activists, named West, said: “Waterstones is one of the biggest sellers of non literary Harry Potter items and JK Rowling takes that money and uses it to promote her online fund.”

She claimed: “Anyone in England and Scotland can apply and she will fund your court cases against trans individuals, trans rights and trans supportive businesses, so it’s a direct pipeline of all the Harry Potter money that is going directly to the erasure of trans rights. The majority of people aren’t aware that this is happening.

“You can no longer separate the art from the artist unfortunately. If you support Harry Potter as a franchise you also support trans erasure financially. So we are here to raise awareness about that.”

The protest outside Guildford’s Waterstones, in the High Street, underway.

Harry Potter merchandise sold by Waterstones includes soft toys, Lego toys, games, bookmarks, tote bags, pens and badges.

West said: “We don’t mind literary items, we’re not about banning books, but Waterstones is a major seller of Harry Potter merchandise. We have been campaigning to ask them to stop promoting these items and just stick to books or even better, just keep the books on the website.”

Rowling herself characterises her financial contributions as an effort to protect “women’s sex-based rights.”

Her Women’s Fund says legal funding provides women with “the means and confidence to bring to justice strategic cases that make legal precedents, enforce existing equality law, and make positive contributions to women’s and girls’ lives.”

Defund Transphobes is a nationwide group that opposes this activity.

Their website says: We are a group of activists mobilising in resistance to those seeking to remove trans rights and erase us from society. Our campaigns and outreach aim to increase the visibility of trans people and demystify and destigmatise the trans experience, while advocating for people to end their financial support of those who harm the trans community and encouraging them to become vocal and active allies.”