Rupert Grint on J.K. Rowling: 'You can have huge respect for someone and still disagree'

Rupert Grint explained why he spoke up against "Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling last year.

In an interview with Esquire, the actor said that "sometimes, silence is even louder."

"I felt like I had to because I think it was important to. I mean, I don’t want to talk about all that…Generally, I’m not an authority on the subject," he said.

"Just out of kindness, and just respecting people. I think it’s a valuable group that I think needs standing up for," he added.

Rowling earned the ire of many when she posted tweets that were thought to be anti-trans.

Grint, who played Ron Weasley in the popular film franchise based on Rowling's books, issued a statement disagreeing with her.

"I firmly stand with the trans community and echo the sentiments expressed by many of my peers. Trans women are women. Trans men are men. We should all be entitled to live with love and without judgment," he said.

But even though they don't see eye to eye in the issue, Grint maintained that he remains grateful for "everything she's done."

"I think that she’s extremely talented, and I mean, clearly, her works are genius," he said. "But yeah, I think also you can have huge respect for someone and still disagree with things like that."

In one of her controversial tweets last year, Rowling had quoted an article and said, "'People who menstruate.' I'm sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?"

Her stance on gender identity prompted Emma Watson and Daniel Radcliffe to speak up against her as well. —JCB, GMA News