Keffals says debate over playing Hogwarts Legacy is ‘culture war bulls**t’

Keffals may be a staunch supporter of political activism, but today the trans streamer spoke out on the controversies surrounding the new Harry Potter IP Hogwarts Legacy, calling the whole situation “culture war bullshit.”

Posting to Twitter, Keffals didn’t mention the game’s name, J.K. Rowling, or “Harry Potter,” but in a post calling it “the wizard game,” she tried to put people at ease for wanting to play a game that is derived from J.K. Rowling’s wizarding world.

“Letting everyone know that you aren’t transphobic if you want to play the wizard game,” she said. “This is all just culture war bullshit and not relevant to whether or not you support us and our community.”

Keffals sentiment is one that has been reiterated by other creators on Twitch as well. The platform’s foremost political commentator, Hasan Piker, has repeatedly commented on Hogwarts Legacy boycotters and people that have harassed streamers for playing the game.

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Meanwhile, the platform’s top MMO content creator Asmongold has also expressed his disdain for people that share mean-spirited comments directed at people who stream Hogwarts Legacy.

According to Keffals, this entire situation stems from a vocal minority of activists that don’t necessarily have everyone’s best interests in mind.

“I am incredibly sick of bad actors trying to manipulate people by claiming they are bigots for playing a video game they do not like,” she said.

The controversy swirling around Hogwarts Legacy stems from author J.K. Rowling’s public comments about transgender people that have been perceived as transphobic by many. While Rowling is not officially affiliated with the video game, the fact that the game is Harry Potter IP has been enough to solicit protest, even while the game’s developers attempted to assuage that criticism by adding a transgender character to the game. However, many detractors labeled the character as an empty gesture, and the inclusion has done little to quiet the controversy.