JK Rowling Gets ‘Unnerved’ By AI Fan Image, Says ‘Ron Weasley Isn’t And Never Has Been My Ideal Of Beauty’

Rupert Grint as Julian Pearce on Servant
(Image credit: Apple TV+)

J.K. Rowling created a slew of wonderful, quirky, sometimes-aggravating and cool characters when she created the Harry Potter universe, but she says now that AI is a thing, the fans have gotten a little weird. After one of them sent her a picture of herself and a much younger, ginger-haired may, she opened up about the implications of AI as well as well as her “ideal of beauty.” And in case you wondered, she’s not jonesing after a man who looks like Ron Weasley.

So, how did JK Rowling admitting she wouldn’t be into a young man like Ron Weasley even come up? Apparently, she came across an AI image that struck her as odd and tweeted about it.

To be honest, celebrities have varying feelings about Artificial Intelligence. Celebs like Scarlett Johansson have spoken out about the “misuse” of AI in the past. Stars like Ben Affleck have been a little less concerned, citing the creative needs of movies as taking precedent over what computers can producer. But for JK Rowling, it’s seemingly more about getting the facts straight.

A fan later asked the author, “Wait, what’s wrong with gingers?” She then clarified her feelings about AI (but also Ron Weasley) in the process.

​​Nothing wrong with gingers at all. I'm just unnerved that I was sent this very specific picture. Ron Weasley isn't and never has been my ideal of masculine beauty, is all I'm saying.

Of course, it's also worth pointing out Ron was still a kid in the Harry Potter books. According to the Harry Potter timeline, he’d be the ripe old age of 45 if the timeline of the books holds true. JK Rowling herself is 59 at this point, so there’d still be a quite an age gap between the two if Ron Weasley were a real life person and not a fictional character. That's not her cup of tea, though it's worth pointing out Grint thinks Ron and Hermione would have divorced. So, fictionally speaking, Ron could be single and ready to mingle.

In real life, the actor who portrayed Ron in the movies, Rupert Grint, is only 36. Not that anyone is suggesting JK Rowling and Grint hook up. Rowling is married to Dr. Neil Murray and Grint has a lovely wife named Georgia Groome. The two even became parents a few years ago.

Regardless, AI has wide-ranging implications, and what the author seems to be saying here is if it were up to the technology, she’d be married to someone who is a redhead her son’s age, and that doesn’t feel accurate or pleasant. It’s a bit of a weird thing to have come up in the realm of AI, but I guess the point is that AI has a lot of real-life entanglements we may not have considered back when Steven Spielberg was putting together his own AI movie in 2001.

Jessica Rawden
Managing Editor

Jessica Rawden is Managing Editor at CinemaBlend. She’s been kicking out news stories since 2007 and joined the full-time staff in 2014. She oversees news content, hiring and training for the site, and her areas of expertise include theme parks, rom-coms, Hallmark (particularly Christmas movie season), reality TV, celebrity interviews and primetime. She loves a good animated movie. Jessica has a Masters in Library Science degree from Indiana University, and used to be found behind a reference desk most definitely not shushing people. She now uses those skills in researching and tracking down information in very different ways. 

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