PS5 subreddit bans discussion of JK Rowling, but not Hogwarts Legacy

Hogwarts Legacy is certainly a tale of two halves. With the early access period now open for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and PC users, those who have opted to buy the game are seemingly over the moon with what it has to offer. On the other hand, many Harry Potter fans have chosen to boycott the title.

As I’m sure you’re aware, J.K. Rowling has made a number of transphobic comments in recent years much to the disappointment and upset of the Wizarding World fanbase. Feeling alienated by the author, plenty of fans have chosen to boycott Hogwarts Legacy, with some even using Steam tags to protest against the game’s release. If you want to talk about the game on the r/PS5 subreddit though, you’ll no longer be able to address its context as mention of J.K. Rowling has been banned.

Players can explore an open world Hogsmeade. Take a look below.

As reported by Kotaku, talk of J.K. Rowling has been banned on the PS5 subreddit but talk of Hogwarts Legacy has not. In a lengthy post, the moderators explained, “This week is going to see the launch of one of - if not the - most controversial game titles in recent memory. The gaming community is no stranger to controversy, but Hogwarts Legacy seems to be unique in the sense that virtually none of that controversy stems from the game itself; rather, the author of the source material. It's been made clear in recent weeks that the Reddit community - r/PS5 included - are incapable of discussing J.K. Rowling or any of her various opinions with anything approaching civility. Many Redditors have concerns about Rowling's views, particularly as they relate to the Trans community. However, without fail, any discussion of those concerns has been met with hostility, contempt, and transphobia from the greater Reddit community.”

“This places the r/PS5 mod team in a difficult position with conflicting responsibilities: our responsibility to Reddit's Trans community to ensure that they are treated with respect, and our responsibility to those in the general gaming community who just want to talk about a video game they're excited for,” they continued. “We've attempted in recent days to address the hostile and transphobic responses to these concerns in real-time, but this is proven to be unsustainable - there are simply not enough moderators on any subreddit to deal with the volume of toxicity that Reddit throws at the Trans community on a timely basis; this is compounded by the fact that many of these comments unfortunately go unreported.”

“Therefore, we're taking the unfortunate - but what we feel as necessary - step of banning any and all discussion of J.K. Rowling and related topics in posts concerning Hogwarts Legacy,” they announced.