Editing Albus Dumbledore (section)

===Sexuality===
In October 2007, while answering reader questions during a book reading at [[Carnegie Hall]], Rowling was asked if Dumbledore had ever been in love. She answered, "I always thought Dumbledore is gay". She discussed for the first time his romantic relationship with his rival Gellert Grindelwald, describing it as a "great tragedy". She said she had informed [[David Yates]], the director of ''[[Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film)|Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince]]'', of Dumbledore's sexuality by writing a note in the screenplay. She had crossed out a section where Dumbledore describes his attraction to a woman, and had written "Dumbledore is gay."<ref>{{Cite web |date=Oct 20, 2007 |title=J.K. Rowling reveals Dumbledore is gay |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/j-k-rowling-reveals-dumbledore-is-gay-1.672915 |access-date=September 28, 2023 |website=CBC Arts}}</ref> When Yates learned about Dumbledore's sexuality, he recalled thinking it was "pretty cool".<ref name=":1">{{cite news |last=Masters |first=Tim |date=12 November 2007 |title=Potter stars react to gay twist |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7085863.stm |access-date=21 March 2011 |website=[[BBC News]] |publisher=[[BBC]] |location=London, England}}</ref> Michael Gambon, who portrays Dumbledore in six of the eight ''Harry Potter'' films, was reportedly amused by the revelation. Daniel Radcliffe, who plays Harry in the film series, found the news "hilarious".<ref name=":1" />

The revelation of Dumbledore's sexuality occurred after the publication of the final novel, and made international news.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Smith |first=David |date=2007-10-21 |title=Dumbledore was gay, JK tells amazed fans |language=en-GB |work=The Observer |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2007/oct/21/film.books |access-date=2023-09-28 |issn=0029-7712}}</ref> Some gay rights activists and organizations praised Rowling, while others wished she had gone further to promote acceptance of homosexuality. A spokesman for the advocacy group [[Stonewall (charity)|Stonewall]] applauded the revelation, saying "It's great that JK has said this. It shows that there's no limit to what gay and lesbian people can do, even being a wizard headmaster."<ref name="BBC2007">{{cite web |date=20 October 2007 |title=JK Rowling outs Dumbledore as gay |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7053982.stm |access-date=13 August 2016 |work=[[BBC News]] |publisher=[[BBC]] |location=London, England}}</ref> The gay rights campaigner [[Peter Tatchell]] welcomed the news about Dumbledore, but was disappointed that Rowling did not mention his sexuality in the novels.<ref name="BBC2007" /> In an editorial for ''[[The Guardian]]'', the journalist [[James Ball (journalist)|James Ball]] wrote that depicting "the respected, heroic and beloved Albus Dumbledore as [a] fully realised gay character—whose sexuality was merely incidental to his achievements—would have provided a fictional role model like no other. With homophobic bullying still such a significant issue in schools, this is a missed opportunity with a real sting in the tail."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ball |first=James |date=2007-10-23 |title=Dumbledore tumbles out |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2007/oct/23/dumbledoretumblesout |access-date=2023-09-28 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> Writing for ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'', John Cloud argued that Dumbledore's silence about his sexuality implies that he is ashamed of it. Cloud claimed this silence "suggests a lack of personal integrity that is completely out of character".<ref name=":0">{{Cite magazine |last=Cloud |first=John |date=October 25, 2007 |title=Outing Dumbledore |url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,1675622,00.html |access-date=August 17, 2021 |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]}}</ref>

[[Melissa Anelli]], the webmaster of the fan site [[The Leaky Cauldron (website)|The Leaky Cauldron]], praised the revelation, saying it promoted tolerance towards homosexuality. She added, "By dubbing someone so respected, so talented and so kind, as someone who just happens to be also homosexual, [Rowling is] reinforcing the idea that a person's gayness is not something of which they should be ashamed."<ref>{{cite web |last=Associated Press |date=21 October 2007 |title=Dumbledore's outing gives text new meaning |url=https://www.today.com/popculture/dumbledore-s-outing-gives-text-new-meaning-wbna21407911 |access-date=19 July 2024 |website=Today}}</ref> [[Mark Harris (journalist)|Mark Harris]] of ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' said Rowling's choice "to make a beloved professor-mentor gay in a world where gay teachers are still routinely slandered as malign influences was, I am certain, no accident."<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Harris |first=Mark |author-link=Mark Harris (journalist) |date=30 October 2007 |title=Dumbledore: A Lovely Outing |url=https://ew.com/article/2007/10/30/dumbledores-outing-why-it-matters/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129013013/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20154416,00.html |archive-date=29 November 2014 |access-date=21 March 2011 |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |publisher=[[Meredith Corporation]] |location=New York City}}</ref> Mike Thomas of the ''[[Orlando Sentinel]]'' claimed that Rowling displayed great skill by writing a gay character without labelling him as gay.<ref>{{cite web |last=Thomas |first=Mike |date=22 October 2007 |title=So Dumbledore is Gay |url=http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_columnist_mikethomas/2007/10/so-dumbledore-i.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110522041646/http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_columnist_mikethomas/2007/10/so-dumbledore-i.html |archive-date=22 May 2011 |access-date=21 March 2011 |work=[[Orlando Sentinel]] |publisher=[[Tribune Publishing Company]] |location=Orlando, Florida}}</ref> 

In a 2016 article, Aja Romano of ''[[Vox Media|Vox]]'' observed a critical stance among many ''Harry Potter'' fans towards Rowling's revelation. Romano asserted that because Dumbledore's homosexuality was revealed after his death, certain fans felt that Rowling contributed to a "longstanding, problematic '[[Bury your gays|dead gays]]' trope" instead of showing the headmaster "living out his queer identity".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Romano |first=Aja |date=2016-09-04 |title=The Harry Potter universe still can't translate its gay subtext to text. It's a problem. |url=https://www.vox.com/2016/9/4/12534818/harry-potter-cursed-child-rowling-queerbaiting |access-date=2023-09-28 |website=Vox |language=en}}</ref> After the release of the film ''[[Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald]]'' (2018), Delia Harrington of ''[[Den of Geek]]'' criticised the film's failure to mention Dumbledore's homosexuality. She claimed that Rowling, who wrote the screenplay, put Dumbledore back in "the closet".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Harrington |first=Delia |date=2018-11-20 |title=Fantastic Beasts 2 is Queerbaiting That Puts Dumbledore Back in the Closet |url=https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/fantastic-beasts-2-queerbaiting-dumbledore-back-in-the-closet/ |access-date=2023-09-28 |website=Den of Geek |language=en-US}}</ref> In a 2019 opinion piece in ''[[The Washington Post]]'', Richard Morgan also expressed frustration that the headmaster is not portrayed as gay in the film. He quoted Matt Collette, the producer of the [[Nancy (podcast)|Nancy]] podcast, who had discussed the topic in a 2017 episode. Collette called Rowling a "queerbaiter", which Collette defined as "a writer who puts in just enough of a queer story line to appease the fans who'd like one, but not so much as to offend anyone who doesn't like gay people."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Morgan |first=Richard |date=March 18, 2019 |title=It's not enough for J.K. Rowling to say her characters are queer. Show it to us. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2019/03/18/its-not-enough-jk-rowling-say-her-characters-are-queer-show-it-us/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200814173340/https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2019/03/18/its-not-enough-jk-rowling-say-her-characters-are-queer-show-it-us/ |archive-date=14 August 2020 |access-date=September 28, 2023 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=30 April 2017 |title=There Are No Gay Wizards |url=https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/nancy/episodes/nancy-podcast-episode-5-harry-potter-gay-dumbledore |access-date=2023-09-28 |website=Nancy – WNYC Studios |language=en}}</ref>

Some critics argued that Dumbledore's sexuality should not be considered [[canon (fiction)|canon]]. Edward Rothstein of ''[[The New York Times]]'' said that "Rowling may think of Dumbledore as gay" but "there is no reason why anyone else should".<ref>{{cite news |last=Rothstein |first=Edward |date=29 October 2007 |title=Is Dumbledore Gay? Depends on Definitions of 'Is' and 'Gay' |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/29/arts/29conn.html |access-date=29 October 2007 |work=[[The New York Times]] |location=London, England}}</ref> The student newspaper of [[East Tennessee State University]] accused Rowling of lying, claiming her revelation was a [[publicity stunt]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://media.www.easttennessean.com/media/storage/paper203/news/2007/10/22/Viewpoint/the-Life.And.Lies.Of.Albus.Dumbledore-3047947.shtml |title=The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore |work=East Tennessean |date=22 October 2007 |access-date=21 March 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100130035205/http://media.www.easttennessean.com/media/storage/paper203/news/2007/10/22/Viewpoint/the-Life.And.Lies.Of.Albus.Dumbledore-3047947.shtml |archive-date=30 January 2010 }}</ref> Other critics quoted the [[Death of the Author]] principle; they claimed that Rowling's commentary about characters after the novels were published is irrelevant to an understanding of the books.<ref>{{cite web|first=Michelle|last=Smith|url=http://theconversation.com/the-death-of-j-k-rowling-why-it-doesnt-matter-what-she-has-to-say-about-harry-potter-35762|title=The 'death' of J. K. Rowling: Why it doesn't matter what she has to say about Harry Potter |work=[[The Conversation (website)|The Conversation]]|date=22 December 2014}}</ref>

In the third film in the series, ''[[Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore]]'' (2022), Dumbledore mentions that he was in love with Grindelwald, and tells other characters about their romantic relationship. After these lines were cut from the film's Chinese release, the filmmakers faced additional criticism from fans.{{efn|Attributed to multiple references:<br><ref>{{Cite web |last=Hibberd |first=James |date=2022-04-12 |title=Warner Bros. Removes 'Fantastic Beasts: Secrets of Dumbledore' Dialogue About Gay Relationship for China |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/fantastic-beasts-3-dumbledore-china-1235128751/ |access-date=2023-09-28 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Li |first=Sarah |date=2022-04-15 |title="Fantastic Beasts" Queer Dialogue Was Censored — All 6 Seconds of It |url=https://www.teenvogue.com/story/fantastic-beasts-the-secrets-of-dumbledore-called-out-for-erasing-queer-dialogue |access-date=2023-09-28 |website=Teen Vogue |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Shortt |first=Hannah |date=2022-05-12 |title=Fantastic Beasts 3: How The Secrets of Dumbledore Falls Short on LGBTQ+ Representation |url=https://movieweb.com/fantastic-beasts-3-secrets-of-dumbledore-lgbtq-representation/ |access-date=2023-09-28 |website=MovieWeb |language=en}}</ref>}}