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Dumbledore is Gay!

Dumbledore is Gay!

Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling outed Hotwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore at last night’s talk at New York City’s Carnegie Hall.

A young fan asked during the Q&A if Dumbledore finds true love and Rowling responded, “Dumbledore is gay.”

The audience gasped, some burst into applause, others gave a standing ovation.

Added Rowling, “Dumbledore fell in love with rival Gellert Grindelwald… Don’t forget, falling in love can blind us. [He] was very drawn to this brilliant person. This was Dumbledore’s great tragedy… In fact, recently I was in a script read through for the sixth film, and they had Dumbledore saying a line to Harry early in the script saying I knew a girl once, whose hair… [laughter]. I had to write a little note in the margin and slide it along to the scriptwriter, “Dumbledore’s gay!” [laughter] If I’d known it would make you so happy, I would have announced it years ago!”

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109 Comments

# 2

Wow! I would have never imagined

# 3

o gosh..interesting..

# 4

HELLOO

I LOVE THIS PAGE!!
IT’S AWASOME!

# 5

Never imagined either! But, I am applauding too!

# 7

Thanks Jared, I love the Harry Potter seires!

# 8

OMG! this better be a joke no offence to anyone that is gay but i really dont want to picture dumbledore gay and in love with his worst enemy!

# 9

DUMBLEDORE DIES ON THE SIXTH BOOK, SO I’M NOT QUITE SURE WETHER HE IS GAY OR NOT. HAHA KINDA FUNNY ANYWAY.

@ #8: Did it ever occur to you that it’s not about what you want but what Joanne Rowling wanted?
People like you make me sick!

And I’m happy to hear that JKR helped Dumbledore out of the closet!

She meant gay as in happy.

I know, not really, but at least he out of the closet!

Does it matter? Why is there a desperate need to make everything politically correct? It’s a series about wizrds for goodness sake. The characters aren’t in need of a sexual preference.

Really what was the point of her saying that now? I mean I don’t really care and it change my love for the series one bit but what’s the point?

interesting thought, 12.

Somebody asked, and she answered.

Thank you Jared! This totally made my day, I love Dumbledore so much and this only increased how much. I don’t think anyone ever thought that Dumbledore was gay. That’s so fantastic.

Oh I knew it was just a matter of time before you would post it as well Jared.

But hell……I was- or better - still am SHOCKED.

At first I thougth I had a drink too much, then I thought it was a joke,(oh how I´d wanted it to be a joke…), and finally after reading it for the fifth time- and searching it up- I really believed it.

And on top of it all he was smitten with Gellart?!

—————————SHOCK———————————

I think he may as well be the most popular man on this planet being outed ;) what does this tell you?

Really now….I have to get used to this. But Dumbledor is no doubt my all time favorite.

Reading the books again will be a hellova fun!

hahahah wow
that made me laugh

From the block @ 10/20/2007 at 1:01 pm

Why standing ovation? Whats the big deal?

haruhi suzumiya @ 10/20/2007 at 1:24 pm

haha I can’t believe people get so worked up over a fictional character’s sexuality.

It upsets me. I think it colours all of his relationships from there on out (Harry, Snape, were there other motives in his treatment now that he could have been attracted to them?) and it turns some people, who were excited about the Christian parallels in the series, away. I just think, even if she wrote it that way, she didn’t need to tell us. It’s sort of the easy way out of explaining Dumbledore’s romantic life. I was much more satisfied with the “he’s intellectually above everyone else and it makes it hard to find companionship” answer.

Why am i upset? :( Maybe i’m just shocked.

Was she drunk when she said that?
Dumbledore is gay oh my god!

I know he is a fictional character but I’m also upset about this. :(

I’M GONNA MEET JK ROWLING ON OCTOBER 23! I’m so excited, I’m gonna ask her when did she decidedumbledore is gay, I can’t wait!

I think this is great! She wrote the books for kids and she probably knows that at least 10 percent of the population is gay, probably more–so she created a role model for kids that is strong and pure and good and gay. Go JKR!

Cool, I love the Harry Potter Series!!!!

what… the money is letting her going crazy!!!Dumbledore gay??? Ridiculous.Caracters with personal sexuality. She should be cracked when she said that or written something like it.

Damn it, there goes my theory about Dumbledore and McGonagall.

this is so amusing. haha. (:

Shrugging an atlas @ 10/20/2007 at 3:08 pm

Can I just say to all those asking “Why did she say it, why?!” She was at a Q&A session with fans & one person asked her about Dumbledore’s love life…him being gay is a part of his love life so it makes sense to announce it if someone had asked…I think it’s cool, kind of fits the character in my opinion.

that is so silly and unnecessary for a children’s book, she is obviously trying to compete with the LOTR films

Get Over It @ 10/20/2007 at 3:21 pm

Amy, grow up.

J.K. Rowling clearly tried to explain how Dumbledore’s attraction for his enemy blinded him. It makes sense - and if it offends you, too bad. Now go write your own book.

LOL! I hope the religious right all break out into a**holes and sh*t themselves to death.

—————silly————————–

Well, actually she doesn´t need to compete with “Loed of the rings”.

Harry Potter is way more popular than LotR ever was- and it´s not even finished yet.(not to mention not around as long)

For once your answer and name go hand in hand.

how does she know he was gay?

is there a sex tape?

Thank you Get Over It. Amy really needs a dose of maturity…colors his relationships, what? I doubt Dumbledore was smitten with everyone he met especially Harry. He is a child for crying out loud. Is Dumbledore now a pedophile? Did his assumed straightness color his relationships with Hermoine or any of the other female cast? As for certain Christians, she has already separated herself from those who are fanatic and filled with hate for others.
Oh and to Silly it is slightly unnecessary for adult relationships, straight or gay, to be explicit in Harry Potter and thats why it wasn’t. It was a Q&A and she answered. It makes sense Dumbledore was never married and he followed a path completely out of character with his nemesis. It was good explanation.
Geeze people are so ignorant.

Gosh … I’ve seen it, but still ‘Gosh’ … Kinda Stupid ?! Dumbledore’s sexuality is not reall the point, is it ? Although, it’ll be great if he could say: ‘I knew a girl once’ … But anyway, Jo’s the Best… She knows it !

Love Harry Potter.

omg that is so cool i cxant believe he is gay lol i just cant believe it i thiught he had a thing with mcgonogall i guess i was wrong haha this is amazing another reason i love the series

well… that’s kinda creepy. now i think of dumbledore’s intimate relationship with harry as perverse & inappropriate instead of fatherly or nuturing.

and JK’s timing sucks considering they just arrested some crazy gay pedophilic teacher in thailand this week.

but i shouldn’t be surprised considering the man wore a glittery gown with stars and a hat. maybe he showed the kids in detention more than his wand…

WHO cares if he is gay, it’s just dumbledore…

Now if it was someone else, like Harry or Remus. I would see why we should all care.

That’s just really stupid..
I think she has officialy going nuts!
Actually the whole 7th book wasn’t wort it..!
I’m a biig Harry Potter fan.. but.. She’s just putting the story lower and lower anytime she can!
For god’s sake Jk!..stop making Harry Potter so bad..!
I’m so upset about this
It’s funny.. I mean.. you will never expect that from the “Greatest Wizard”.. but she’s making it all look stupid..

It just sucks tat she said such a stupid thing after that very dissapointing last book..
so.. It’s just sad

GOSH!
HOW STUPID AND SENSELESS WAS THAT???
SHE COMPLETELY SAID THAT OUT OF POINT!

I didn’t see that coming. I wonder what the cast thinks of this.

How abt Voldemort’s sexuality? He never had a fling with women, not that I remember from any of the books. He always chased his enemies with passion, mostly men. He was brought to Hogwarts by Dumbledor himself. I think he definitely was gay, that Voldemort.

I am not a homophobe, I live in NYC. I regulary see gay couples on the streets of Chelsea. I try to be open minded, yet somehow I feel uncomfortable in their presence, particulary when they are kissing. Its kinda disturbing to look at.
Gay people are a reality, not something which exists only in Hollywood. I am really confused about my stand on this issue. I truly believe in equal rights for all humans, gay, straight whatever! Yet feel uncomfy when they kiss and make out around me.

Giving my own standing ovation.

How beautiful is that? Dumbledore take´s it up his little pooper !!!!

wow loving the fact that he is gay it just changes everythimg…=)

Well… wasn’t it obvious?
He was nice, polite, cultured, had a wacky sense of humor, weird collections, was wicked smart, extremely flamboyent…
Of course he was gay!!!
And he was awesome. Love him.

And to all you… people, who now look at his relationship with Harry differently… well, that’s just idiotic. Being gay doesn’t mean you’re attracted to EVERYONE and ANYONE at ANY age that have the same body parts as you. If you think that it’s that way, maybe you’re the one having a problem.

Having read J.K. Rowling’s rationale I find that it does make sense. I don’t have a problem with it and as I said before it doesn’t my change my opinion of the books or the character of Dumbledore one bit.

Whether Dumbledore is gay or not, it doesn’t really matter because it doesn’t even affect the story. They don’t even talk about his personal relationships much, hence no one knowing he was gay. hahaha.

im not upset at all, and as a big big fan of the books i´m interested in everything she (JK) can tell us :) and like me, a LOT others, we just love to know what´s going on with the characters even after the end of the series, so he was gay, god for him! whatever… i am a geek? u beat! hehe

I THINK SHE JUST THOUGHT OF IT. SPUR OF THE MOMENT. DAMN, WHAT A WAY TO GET MORE PUBLICITY.

this post was born at @ 10/21/2007 at 1:35 am

He doesn’t find true love because he died, I thought that was obvious O_O! And being gay doesn’t prevent you from finding “true love”.

Am I The Only One @ 10/21/2007 at 1:56 am

I thought it was obvious in the 7th book. I just assumed he was gay and in love with Grindelwald. Sending him letters in the night after having spent the whole day together? Her announcement isn’t a surprise to me. What is shocking to me is that there are still so many homophobes amongst us. I’m straight but I have gay friends and I don’t find gay couples any different from heterosexuals. If anything they seem to understand each other better, being of the same gender and all. It’s not all about s-ex and fyi, straight couples have a-n-a-l s-ex too.

hm, i can understand the joy of slashers, but personally i don’t find it that funny or seriously cool. i have absolutely nothing against gay, but as far as it’s children’s book, right? i wouldnt like my kid to learn about this at the age of 7 or 8 (and i see there was a lot of fans of this age in this meeting).
Seriously it sounded like trying to please fan fiction writers. At least she could have used some other common words to describe that he had a crush on the other guy.

wait…so the character is gay? or the actor?

I thought they were just friends… But he doesn’t tell Harry he was in love with Gellert, does he ?
Overwise I won’t juge ! But I always wanted him and McGonagal to be in love… Well I guess that can’t happend =p

lolol i think it was a joke people

OMG!!
I NEVER EVER IMAGINED!!
OWO!!
TANKS JARED..
I LOVE HARRY POTTER’S SERIES

SERIA BOM TER ESSE SITE EM PORTUGUES SABE..
OU EM ESPANHOL..

KISSES!
BYEBYE

haha how awesome is that??!!!

I think that’s great! :) I don’t think him being gay changes anything, it just promotes tolerance! And that is really needed. I am a big fan of her books and wait for more details she can tell us. :)

If you are upset, then you are homophobic on some level. It is silly to think Dumbledore’s sexuality “coloured” his choices or relationships. Is McGonagall in love with Voldemort because they’re both straight? Does McGonagall’s heterosexuality “colour” her relationship with Harry, her motivations her actions? Don’t be silly. It is obvious that JK went to great lengths to have the students of Hogwarts represent so many minority groups — but where are the gay students? None. So, now we have a gay Headmaster. Awesome. Part of homophobia is making gays invisible and removing them from culture. This puts them smack in the middle - actually at the forefront. Awesome!

AAAAAAANNNNDDD millions of girls’ dreams are crushed

WE WANT ZANESSA!!!!

——-Hehehe——

Don´t know who said this, but “Wouldn´t want my child to find out in a children book”—-like it´s a disease or something.

If anyone understands then it´s the children.

That way they won´t be affected by grown-ups….

I knew there was a reason why I never liked those stupid books. She is the most over rated writer, ever.

I find it repulsive that people are unable to make the distinction between pedophilia and homosexuality. They fact that he is gay does not need to imply his relationship as a father figure is in anyway perverse. Pure ignorance. The majority of pedophiles are heterosexual men! Look at statistics - don’t make them up.

She was obviously apprehensive about divulging this (the TIME article gives further details). But she was answering a question truthfully, as she had created it in her mind. And saying that she has gone nuts for realistically placing a gay individual in a novel of many, many characters is hardly justifiable. Those who think there she should have had no gay characters are the delusional ones.

One of the main thematic messages of her books are tolerance and this just takes that one step further for a generation that is ready to accept her message, even if the immature ‘adults’ here on this board are not. Sorry, but the world is changing and most a lot of you here need to get over it and find the faults in yourselves and not others.

DANGASindaHAUS @ 10/21/2007 at 9:50 pm

When I read this I was like: “I KNEW IT!!!” lol

When you read the backstory of Dumbledore in book7 and how he used to adore Grindelwald, you’d know right away he’s gay! haha

But I love Dumbledore all the more because he ships H/Hr!!! Yay!

This just makes me even more proud to be a fan of JKR. I think she is an amazingly courageous woman (it will be a great day when one doesn’t need so much courage to talk about homosexuality), and she has inspired so many people. So many more children spend time reading because of her books, and now those children are learning amazing lessons about tolerance. People should not be so afraid to discuss homosexuality with children. It is just another part of life, it doesn’t hurt anyone, and it is not something to be feared. Come on people, grow up!

Kudos to Michelle for a well-written argument. I am in full agreement, and I won’t waste time trying to put it better than you did.

Slash shippers everywhere are celebrating. Heh.

:o Oh wow…i’m in major shock

abooo nonoş dumbi ben şüphelenmiştim zaten .ama yane jkr kafayı üşüttü
parayı bulunca çoştu yakında voldemort ta harrnin babası derse şaşmayın

Publicity stunt much? If she was so sure he was gay she would have mentioned it in the novels before. She just didn’t want the publicity surrounding the novels to die, she wanted to buy into another avenue of publicity so more people would buy her books. Don’t get me wrong, I own them and love them, but to use something like this to make more money… shame on you Ms. Rowling.

I think this is really cool. It’s so unusual that you get an author writing for young people who deals with homosexuality in a mature way. I think it takes a bit of getting used to, as other people have said, for sure, but Dumbledore is my favourite character in the series, and in my opinion it isn’t so much of a shock - it’s not like it jars with his personality or anything. I think it really fits, and it’s going to make it interesting for me to read the books again with that a bit more in mind.

I love the HP series, but i think this doesnt make sense. She just seemed to want more publicity :S

Laughing so hard @ 10/22/2007 at 9:53 pm

I find it hilarious that people are up in arms about this topic. As if being homosexual somehow changes the character, non-existant god some people need to stop living in the dark ages.

The timing of this news for me is HORRIBLE! I am reading the last 100 pages of The Deathly Hallows. I have not once in all 7 books even had an inkling that Dumbledore was gay and I think this is a PR stunt on Rowlings part. I am not against gays, however as a reader I choose what material I am interested in based on certain factors.Had I known up front that Dumbledore was gay I would have chosen not to read them
My teenage son and I read the books together, watch the movies and have many discussions. I would not have chosen these books if Rowlings had been open and honest. Instead she chose to be timid and cowardly. How can this be good news for gays if even she was afraid to bring her characters out of the closet? Personally I think it happened this way because her books are finished and she wanted a grand finale rush to Barnes and Noble.

change spelling of second “Rowlings” above to “Rowling”. My bad ;)

Somehow it just seems as another pathetic attempt to stir up controversial news so as to attract attention back to her books again. -.-

why do people think homosexuality have to go hand in hand with pedophilia? that’s dumbfounds me. I’m glad she said it. people who truly appreciate her and her books should appreciate her honesty, she probably knew she was going to catch some heat from it. who cares is Dumbledore was gay? does that change the character in anyway? good for her.

I also like how whenever someone says “I’m not prejudice or anything, BUT-” the most ignorant sh*t comes out of their mouth

Devin cook @ 10/23/2007 at 2:19 pm

Harry Potter sucks balls

So all those times… Dumbledore was just trying to get to “little” Harry??

i dont think at all that dumbledore being gay is in any way funny….
its the refeltion of changing socciety… how people take things now.. how acceptance has increased.. how we are proud to be gay…. and that there are million other non gays that supports and respects our prefernce…. m so happy and thankful to jkr that she did this..she wrote the most famous.. most read book of the world and the master wizard is gay. it says a lot…
i dont need to advocate alternate sexulaity here…but what i mean is that there we can see a change coming.it wont take much time when for younger generation it would be a lot more easlier to come out of closet.. or to live a normal life.. and not like outcasts.. thanks…

Homosexuality and Pedophelia are NOT the same!!!!!!!! fore god’s sake, you idiots!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! As an adult male, do you always fall in love with little girls???? NO, so why should a gay male fall in love with a little boy??? STUPID!!!

That’s horrible!

Dumbledore is like, awsome!

How could you do this J.K.?!

And Yet life still goes on…

So lets all think about this for a second. The Greatest Wizard in the world is gay…whoopie doo…the books are finished, there is no mention of it in the series. and that Sterotypical bullshit of Dumbledore in love with Harry? My Step uncle is gay…does that make me attractive to him? Hell no. It’s even stated that Dumbledore looks to Harry as a son, and seriously who gives a crap if he’s gay…Take this for an example. Lets say your best friend, or your father or your mother or sister in the case dies or maybe they dont. And you find out they are gay…should that mean you should stop loving them..uhh no it does not because they are still the same person…and for gods sake is a freakin book.

And so…life goes on

This changes everything about what I thought Dumbledore stood for! THe relationships that he had with harry snape, and grindy are now skewed. I thought that dumby and harry = his understanding of harry, that snape and dumby = his ability to give poeple second chances, and that dumby and Grindy = his ability to “take over the world” yet being to noble to do so. Knowing that there may have been sexual intentions is sick and changes everything I thought I knew about him.

Ribeye of your Dreams @ 10/26/2007 at 4:56 am

I personally believe that the people who are throwing out the books and keeping kids from reading them are morons. Kids barely read as it is, and now parent’s are keeping their kids from reading something over a character being a homosexual, even though there’s no mention of it in the books.
Dumbledore Dilemma

I AM SO MAD! SHE IS ENCOURAGING CHILDREN TO QUESTION AUTHORITY AND SAYING THAT BECOMING GAY IS COOL! WHAT IS SOCIETY COMING TO? I FEEL LIKE BOYCOTTING THE WHOLE SERIES. MY OPINION OF HER JUST WENT WAY DOWN! THANKS FOR NOTHING ROWLING.

it,s sick he cant be gay… jkr is a sick sick person.

i hate jkr now.. she just made all the books a joke

Darth Ergo @ 10/29/2007 at 6:01 pm

Ok, here is how I see this. It was nothing more than an after thought… one to make the current crowd happy. I have ALWAYS(and still do) pictured Albus and Minerva as a secret thing. I think at the end, the story will take care of it’s self on this matter. They say that any story is not imagined by the author, but the author is simply a conduit… The story did not ask for her opinion. For now, unless she does something stupid in the movies, or in the encyclopedia I think it will be left to reader interpretation and nothing more. In all honesty, there was no point to bring it up. No good could have came from it. She should have just said “I Don’t Know” when asked. If she thought he was gay, that’s her problem. I really don’t want it crammed down my throat, or the throat of my child. The Bible tells us in several different places that being gay is an ABOMINATION. If God says we shouldn’t do it, should we really be glorifying it?

now that she outed him, i can tell that he is

20: Amy:

It colors all of his relationships, knowing that he might have been attracting to Snape, etc?!?!? What?!?!? Are you attracted to every man you meet? Does your being a natural sexual human being really effect every moment of every relationship you have with every person you meet? And if Dumbledore were hetero, that wouldn’t color every relationship he had with women, would it?

I wish for you that you meet many wonderfully fabulous gay people in your life. They are amazing, real, and not after sex sex sex all the time, as I’m sure you’re not either.

Velociraptor @ 11/02/2007 at 4:29 pm

So this whole “sexuality not relevant to Harry Potter argument” is completely stupid. Almost all the characters had crushes, love interests etc. No one’s getting all flustered that there’s straight characters, who… engage in sexuality before marriage! Penelope and Percy, Ron and Lavender… You know, Molly and Arthur probably even had s-e-x! Please.

She just answered the question. Who did Dumbledore love? A man. It totally explains the Grindewald thing. Count yourselves lucky she didn’t put it in the book, God forbid gay people have a good role model.

Bottom line is, if she had said a woman character, no one would be getting upset. I can’t believe this ignorance.

JKr is stupid trash @ 11/03/2007 at 2:17 am

This was obviously a ploy to give the homos a reason to go and buy her stupid books. She apparently figured that her last book was out and she would not loose much in sales from those who would disapprove of her fantasy *** wizard, and that she had sales to gain from the “outing” of Dumbledore. This is a f’ing publicity stunt, and it makes me sick.

rolling lived with these characters for 17 years of her life, so i think anybody that thinks she made it up as a publicity stunt is wrong, these characters were like real people to her, she obviously did it because she invented these people and knew everything about them. i think it’s because i’ll get to go back and re-read the book with a new view :)

I feel that this coment needs to be re-published because it is good. And I totally agree with Michelle.

“Michelle : 10/21/2007 at 9:35 pm
I find it repulsive that people are unable to make the distinction between pedophilia and homosexuality. They fact that he is gay does not need to imply his relationship as a father figure is in anyway perverse. Pure ignorance. The majority of pedophiles are heterosexual men! Look at statistics - don’t make them up.

She was obviously apprehensive about divulging this (the TIME article gives further details). But she was answering a question truthfully, as she had created it in her mind. And saying that she has gone nuts for realistically placing a gay individual in a novel of many, many characters is hardly justifiable. Those who think there she should have had no gay characters are the delusional ones.

One of the main thematic messages of her books are tolerance and this just takes that one step further for a generation that is ready to accept her message, even if the immature ‘adults’ here on this board are not. Sorry, but the world is changing and most a lot of you here need to get over it and find the faults in yourselves and not others.”

What I would like to add is… She didn’t write it in the book because it doesn’t matter. But when she was asked, she told it. What she said was: “I always thought of Dumbledore as gay.” So you can think of him as whatever you want, right. Anyway, it makes sense to me and it explains the whole thing with Grindelwald.

You know… just love eachother, ok.

Seriously. Get over it.

1. He’s not real
2. It doesn’t matter who you love.
3. Gellert is awesome, evil dudes are cool. How could one NOT fall in love with an evil guy?

He is like gandalf, a dirty gay

I think this whole thing is ridiculous because Dumbledore is a fictional character. His love life never came into play during the books so it’s irrelevant. He shouldn’t be made a new gay role model, or public enemy #1because of this because he’s not even a real person, so stop all the rig-a-ma-roll!! I did think it was odd that JKR stated he was in love with Grindelwald, because from the writing I always got the feeling Dumbledore was more in love with the ideas Grindelwald had and the plans they were making together, not that he was actually romantically in LOVE with him. And last, if this really is some ploy to be “politically correct” then that is a shame, because it’s completely ridiculous that she should have to say something just so some people think that it’s okay. The story was great as it was, and I still love the books.

shocking twist to the story….but it doesn’t matter much, though, it’s not that important anyway.

live2dream @ 04/27/2008 at 12:23 pm

WOW!!! I would have never thought of him being gay, like i guess i never really thought of him having a relationship with anyone because he was so, like out of place, to preocupied with his work. But i am not saying anymore about the book because those of u who havent read it yet, i dont want to spoil it :) but it was reallly good!!!

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