Beloved writer of the Harry Potter series, J. K. Rowling, has recently raised many eyebrows as she steps back into the media’s eye again. Recently, Rowling has stated in an interview that there was a “sexual dimension” to the relationship between Grindelwald and Dumbledore, confirming that there was a reciprocity of feelings.

As she continues to address the matter, she adds: “Their relationship was incredibly intense. It was passionate, and it was a love relationship…the sense of the emotions they felt for each other, which ultimately is the most fascinating thing about all human relationships.”

Despite her addition of “diversity” into her series ever since 2007, when she first revealed in a Q&A that Dumbledore was gay, fans still can’t help but wonder whether her inclusion of the LGBTQ+ is sincere or a way to gain publicity.

Earning only $62.1 million domestically in the first three days, The Crimes of Grindelwald scored the lowest debut in the Harry Potter series by more than $12 million. Even though the first movie in Rowling’s new spin-off series, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, turned a much closer profit to those of the original Harry Potter movies, it’s clear to people that they don’t resonate the same way with this series to that of Harry Potter.

After the interview, Rowling received much backlash on a variety of social media platforms especially on Twitter, trending for two days in a row. Many fans are angered by the fact that rather than including queer characters in her books and movies, she releases facts about the characters’ identities in interviews and Q&As instead.

This interview also received backlash in the form of memes. Many Twitter users mocked the way J. K. Rowling talked about her characters by making their own takes in which Rowling would release a bizarre fact about her series and the characters in it.

As Rowling receives more publicity for her comments on her books, the media grows more and more involved. Whether or not Rowling does this to make her series more inclusive, or to gain more publicity, she lingers in peoples’ thoughts as they wonder what she will say next.