rowling radcliffe
© GettyJ.K. Rowling (left) and Daniel Radcliffe
Daniel Radcliffe is making his position clear.

On Saturday, Harry Potter scribe J.K. Rowling issued a handful of tweets in response to an article that mentions "people who menstruate." Rowling responded by urging the word "woman" be used in place of the phrase, irking fans who accused her of ignoring transgender women.

Since then, Rowling, 54, has defended her position online and has faced even more backlash from followers.

Now, Daniel Radcliffe, who starred in the film adaptations of Rowling's hit young adult series, has published an essay on the matter.

The essay was published on Monday on the website for The Trevor Project, a charity focused on crisis and suicide prevention within the LGBTQ community.

The 30-year-old actor began by explaining that his statement is not an indication of "in-fighting" between himself and Rowling, but that he felt compelled to speak out given the influence Rowling has had in his life.

"Transgender women are women. Any statement to the contrary erases the identity and dignity of transgender people and goes against all advice given by professional health care associations who have far more expertise on this subject matter than either Jo or I," Radcliffe said.

The actor pointed out that "according to The Trevor Project, 78% of transgender and nonbinary youth reported being the subject of discrimination due to their gender identity."

Radcliffe said that more must be done to support transgender and nonbinary people to avoid invalidating their identities and causing "further harm."

The star then addressed fans that felt that the book series -- which is rife with themes of tolerance, acceptance and love -- carries little weight after Rowling's comments.

"To all the people who now feel that their experience of the books has been tarnished or diminished, I am deeply sorry for the pain these comments have caused you. I really hope that you don't entirely lose what was valuable in these stories to you," he said, noting that learning something from a story is "sacred."