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NEW YORK — Harry Potter fans, the rumors are true: Albus Dumbledore, master wizard and Headmaster of Hogwarts, is gay. J.K. Rowling, author of the mega-selling fantasy series that ended last summer, outed the beloved character Friday night while appearing before a full house at Carnegie Hall.
After reading briefly from the final book, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," she took questions from audience members.
She was asked by one young fan whether Dumbledore finds "true love."
"Dumbledore is gay," the author responded to gasps and applause.
She then explained that Dumbledore was smitten with rival Gellert Grindelwald, whom he defeated long ago in a battle between good and bad wizards. "Falling in love can blind us to an extent," Rowling said of Dumbledore's feelings, adding that Dumbledore was "horribly, terribly let down."
Dumbledore's love, she observed, was his "great tragedy."
"Oh, my god," Rowling concluded with a laugh, "the fan fiction."
Potter readers on fan sites and elsewhere on the Internet have speculated on the sexuality of Dumbledore, noting that he has no close relationship with women and a mysterious, troubled past. And explicit scenes with Dumbledore already have appeared in fan fiction.
Rowling told the audience that while working on the planned sixth Potter film, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," she spotted a reference in the script to a girl who once was of interest to Dumbledore. A note was duly passed to director David Yates, revealing the truth about her character.
Rowling, finishing a brief "Open Book Tour" of the United States, her first tour here since 2000, also said that she regarded her Potter books as a "prolonged argument for tolerance" and urged her fans to "question authority."
Not everyone likes her work, Rowling said, likely referring to Christian groups that have alleged the books promote witchcraft. Her news about Dumbledore, she said, will give them one more reason.
© 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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- Hillel Italie's Column, All of Newsvine
- Groups: Books, Newvine Hogwarts
- Regions: United States , New York
 | Rowling: Dumbledore is Gay. | USA Today | Sun Oct 21 | 1 |
| JK Rowling says wizard Dumbledore is gay | Reuters | Mon Oct 22 | 3 |
| Rowling dubs Dumbledore of 'Harry Potter' books as gay | NY Daily News | Sat Oct 20 | 1 |
| Dumbledore is Gay | Yahoo! News | Mon Oct 22 | 1 |
| JK Rowling says wizard Dumbledore is gay | Reuters | Sun Oct 21 | 0 |
- Public Discussion (21)
- Books
- Newvine Hogwarts
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{"commentId":1114839,"authorDomain":"sbutki"}
Not sure why this matters but it is interesting.
{"commentId":1114839,"threadId":"164448","contentId":"1037012","authorDomain":"sbutki"}
- 7 votes
#1 - Fri Oct 19, 2007 11:08 PM EDT{"commentId":1114852,"authorDomain":"akj"}
Agreed.
{"commentId":1114852,"threadId":"164448","contentId":"1037012","authorDomain":"akj"}
- 3 votes
{"commentId":1116379,"authorDomain":"drulff"}
It adds a bit more to the whole duel with that first dark wizard guy. Maybe she thought it was obvious from her book, the way she reacted.
{"commentId":1116379,"threadId":"164448","contentId":"1037012","authorDomain":"drulff"}
- 2 votes
{"commentId":1132203,"authorDomain":"sbutki"}
Seven clues that dumbledore was gay.
Meanwhile, what about Harry? Was/is he gay?
President Bush has announced he is going to ban marriages between fictitious gay characters.
{"commentId":1132203,"threadId":"164448","contentId":"1037012","authorDomain":"sbutki"}
{"commentId":1114854,"authorDomain":"MinnieApolis"}
Oh, please. I'd much rather it was Snape than anyone else. You know, so traumatized after losing Harry's mother to that insufferable James Potter...so then he swore off women altogether.
No? It's Dumble-D?
Impossible. She's playing with us.
{"commentId":1114854,"threadId":"164448","contentId":"1037012","authorDomain":"MinnieApolis"}
- 4 votes
#2 - Fri Oct 19, 2007 11:20 PM EDT{"commentId":1114858,"authorDomain":"sbutki"}
What would her motivation for playing with us at this point? To sell books? Oh, wait, she already did that!
{"commentId":1114858,"threadId":"164448","contentId":"1037012","authorDomain":"sbutki"}
- 4 votes
{"commentId":1122068,"authorDomain":"sphinx"}
You'd much rather the damaged, cold, antisocial character be the gay one because losing Lily Potter... turned him gay?
Hrm.
{"commentId":1122068,"threadId":"164448","contentId":"1037012","authorDomain":"sphinx"}
{"commentId":1114983,"authorDomain":"EddieStarr"}
{"commentId":1114996,"authorDomain":"biggerthebetter"}
I could make an obvious joke about the fact that his familiar (his wizard pet) was a Phoenix....you know, flames...
But I won't!
{"commentId":1114996,"threadId":"164448","contentId":"1037012","authorDomain":"biggerthebetter"}
- 2 votes
#4 - Sat Oct 20, 2007 12:53 AM EDT{"commentId":1115003,"authorDomain":"lifeiselsewhere"}
How about a spin off: Dumbledore and the Secret Life of Gay Wizards? That would be a good read. :)
{"commentId":1115003,"threadId":"164448","contentId":"1037012","authorDomain":"lifeiselsewhere"}
- 2 votes
#5 - Sat Oct 20, 2007 12:58 AM EDT{"commentId":1115144,"authorDomain":"laughman"}
...urged her fans to "question authority."
Now that's the bit that really matters.
I've always taught my kids to question authority - and, boy, do I pay for it!
{"commentId":1115144,"threadId":"164448","contentId":"1037012","authorDomain":"laughman"}
- 3 votes
#6 - Sat Oct 20, 2007 2:57 AM EDT{"commentId":1115800,"authorDomain":"brusnews"}
I think something is lost whenever an artist, director, or singer comes out and interprets or reveals the theme or part of the story outside of the actual work. Stories, films, songs are all at there greatest when they remain partly abstract and for the viewer to develop and fill in the gaps. I know this was revealing just one character's orientation, but even this seemed forced. She wasn't asked about that specifically, just whether Dumbledore found true love.
{"commentId":1115800,"threadId":"164448","contentId":"1037012","authorDomain":"brusnews"}
- 4 votes
#7 - Sat Oct 20, 2007 12:15 PM EDT{"commentId":1115920,"authorDomain":"MinnieApolis"}
I agree, Ryan. The life of the characters outside of the printed work should be something that belongs to the reader's imagination. Readers get very fond of certain characters and and especially with children, can imagine a whole personal storyline. Its like we all come up with our own prequels and sequels so Rowling should have left well enough alone.
{"commentId":1115920,"threadId":"164448","contentId":"1037012","authorDomain":"MinnieApolis"}
- 1 vote
#8 - Sat Oct 20, 2007 1:23 PM EDT{"commentId":1122079,"authorDomain":"sphinx"}
Its like we all come up with our own prequels and sequels so Rowling should have left well enough alone.
So I guess you're not at all a fan of Tolkien or Star Wars?
Or, might this be because you don't want the esteemed Dumbledore to be tainted by da gay?
{"commentId":1122079,"threadId":"164448","contentId":"1037012","authorDomain":"sphinx"}
{"commentId":1116615,"authorDomain":"whackedman"}
Does she honestly think that the all the people who don't like her books are homophobes?
{"commentId":1116615,"threadId":"164448","contentId":"1037012","authorDomain":"whackedman"}
- 1 vote
#9 - Sat Oct 20, 2007 8:30 PM EDT{"commentId":1116905,"authorDomain":"olgn"}
{"commentId":1120414,"authorDomain":"TheVerbalistx"}
The worst part is not that there is a homosexual character in her books, it's that people are so wrapped up in the story that they feel as if their best friend just turned gay. Get your heads out of your asses people, it's just a book.
Harry Potter is for the unimaginative.
{"commentId":1120414,"threadId":"164448","contentId":"1037012","authorDomain":"TheVerbalistx"}
- 3 votes
#11 - Mon Oct 22, 2007 12:09 PM EDT{"commentId":1122082,"authorDomain":"sphinx"}
it's that people are so wrapped up in the story that they feel as if their best friend just turned gay. Get your heads out of your asses people, it's just a book.
Indeed, I really don't understand the feverous obsession that Harry Potter generates.
It's a book about wizard kids which fits long-used archetypes for heroic mythology. It got kids to read, and that's fantastic, but it really isn't anything literarily fundamentally special.
{"commentId":1122082,"threadId":"164448","contentId":"1037012","authorDomain":"sphinx"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":1131569,"authorDomain":"sbutki"}
I saw a tv news item about the Harry Potter coverage and as I feared it was stupid. They had one guy - a Potter fan - saying maybe this announcement will open kids eyes earlier about diversity. Then a gay rights supporter - or so the title under his name said - chastised Rowling for not being "truly brave" and sharing that information in the book itself. One person likened it to Jane Austen announcing after a book came out that a particular relationship went to the dogs.
Ms Cyprah has a good seed on this topic
{"commentId":1131569,"threadId":"164448","contentId":"1037012","authorDomain":"sbutki"}
#12 - Fri Oct 26, 2007 10:20 AM EDT{"commentId":10404472,"authorDomain":"breelaboy"}
{"commentId":10404474,"authorDomain":"breelaboy"}
{"commentId":10422246,"authorDomain":"brianalampton"}
{"commentId":10422264,"authorDomain":"brianalampton"}
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