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Update: Dumbledore was gay, says 'Potter' author 
OCTOBER 19, 2007 at 9:32 PM
Posted by CHEESER
Source: HPANA
Answering a question posed to her at tonight's book reading at Carnegie Hall in New York, Harry Potter author JK Rowling said she "always saw Dumbledore as gay" and that the Hogwarts headmaster originally fell in love with the wizard Grindelwald in his youth.
Rowling also said she had read through a script for the movie adaptation of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and corrected a passage in which Dumbledore was reminiscing about a past female lover by crossing it out and scrawling "Dumbledore is gay" in the margin.
Upon hearing her response, a hush fell over the audience in attendence and then applause exploded. Rowling remarked that if she had known that would be the response, she would've revealed her thoughts on Dumbledore "years" earlier.
More on tonight's event to follow shortly, including the full question and answer segment!
(Dumbledore fan art by Lisa M. Rourke
. Used with permission.)
UPDATE: A recap of tonight's event: Keith Olbermann, from MSNBC, introduced Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling at tonight’s last event in the States on her "Open Book Tour." In tonight’s session with over 2,000 fans in attendance J.K. answered 16 fan questions in which she revealed the above story as well as Neville’s and Hagrid’s martial status and the job occupations of Harry’s parents.
Jo read from chapter 19, after a Horcrux was destroyed and Ron returned to Harry and Hermione. The author took on the voices of each of the characters making sure that Hermione's anger at Ron was projected to the audience. At one point Jo lost her composure when she read the line "No, I heard you coming out of my pocket," which she did not finish, as the audience broke out in laughter.
Below is a summary of the questions and answers from tonight's event (paraphrased):
She was surprised that no one had ever asked her what Dumbledore's wand was made of. If ever asked this question she would have simply said "It's made of Elder" and left it at that.
In answering a question about Neville and finding love, Jo said that he married the landlady from the Leaky Cauldron (which happened to be Hannah Abbott), and that living above the Leaky Cauldron would have impressed his students at Hogwarts.
When asked why she chose Molly to kill Bellatrix she replied that she wanted to (1) show that Molly was an extremely talented witch even though she spent most of her time in the kitchen, and (2) she wanted to compare the obsession Bellatrix had with Voldemort to Molly's maternal love for her children.
The next question referred to what would have occurred if Arthur had died in Order of the Phoenix. Jo said that it would have changed books fix, six and seven and that Ron's character would have lost his sense of humor and taken away Harry's refuge at the Weasley home. She also mentioned that Ron's humor stemmed from insecurities and immaturity and that he was the last to become an adult, by facing his fears in the last book.
When eight-year-old Mia asked about Aberforth's goat, Jo asked her age and said that just for her the answer would be "that the goats were easy to keep clean and that they had curly horns," as the audience roared with laughter.
Now for the question that stunned the audience - Did Dumbledore love anyone? Jo started to say, "I always saw Dumbledore as gay" as a hush fell on the audience followed by a excited response by all in attendance. She went on to say that she had recently read the script for Half-Blood Prince and noticed a passage in which Dumbledore recalled a past female love – she immediately crossed out the passage and added the words "Dumbledore is gay" in the margin.
When asked about parseltongue, Jo answered that Ron had mastered one sound but it wouldn't be a language someone could learn.
What was in Dumbledore's letter to the Dursleys in book one? Jo responded by saying that Petunia had wanted to go to Hogwarts and by taking in Harry she was taking in a part of the world that she never participated in.
Then next question is one that many fans have answered themselves in reference to the Basilisk and why did it not kill Voldemort's soul in Harry. Rowling stated that Harry was not destroyed beyond repair because Fawkes was around to heal him but later was conveniently absent when other Horcruxes were destroyed.
Jo replied that Harry did not consult with Dumbledore's portrait for three reasons: (1) The portrait was not available as it was at Hogwarts, (2) Dumbledore didn't want to tempt Harry with the Hallows but wanted him to learn of them slowly due to Harry's flaws and (3) it was too easy and there wouldn't be much of a plot.
When asked to confirm that the Death Eaters were based on the Nazis, Jo answered by saying that it was a conscience decision, people will die and that you shouldn’t believe what your government or newspapers tell you.
When Jo reminisced about completing the first versus the last book she said that it was very similar and that her husband, who was in attendance, hated her for a few weeks because she was unbearable to live with.
After Jo had answered the initial 12 questions a spokesperson from Scholastic revealed that four additional questions would be asked by sweepstakes winners in the audience. First up asked if Malfoy owed Harry a life-debt and Jo stated that there was no magical tie between the two but that Malfoy had to be forever grateful to Harry for saving his life (which is evident in the last chapter of book seven when they meet at platform 9¾).
Donna, from the very top of Carnegie Hall was next in line and after sprinting down the stairwell she breathlessly asked, "What were the careers after graduation of James, Lily, Sirius and Lupin?" Jo said Lupin was unemployable and impoverished because of his condition and that James, Lily and Sirius were employed full-time in the Order of the Phoenix (James was rich and that's how they lived).
When asked did Hagrid ever find love, the audience sighed and Jo responded that she should probably change her answer but that, no, he never did.
The last question of the night referred to Snape's portrait and Rowling answered that Harry would have insisted it be hung in the headmaster's office at Hogwarts but that he probably would not have visited it to converse with Snape. Jo is still surprised when she reads that fans are torn about Snape, who is a complicated character, and unequivocally stated that Snape was "bitter, vindictive and mean."
A special thanks goes to Alisha for inviting HPANA to the event. Geri would like to say on a personal note that the night was brilliant and awesome and that seeing J.K. face-to-face was something that she never thought would happen! You can see some photos from the event here.
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226-232
Order of Merlin, 4th Class
Points: 1380
Chadick says:
Dumbledore is gay. Hmmm...I am FLABBERGASTED! I saw this report at Yahoo! and I fervently rushed here at HPANA to have a look. Wow, I didn't see that one coming. It is both surprising and hilarious. I was in complete shock for 30 seconds!
But I'd give JK Rowling an applause, though. She made Dumbledore a very open-minded person, which is AWESOME!Cheers to the both of them.
Also, thanks to her for answering some questions.
Posted Oct 20, 2007 at 3:08 AM EST
Head Girl
Points: 483
accio_firebolt says:
Wow i did not expect that! i just thought that he was too busy to find love! interesting... i wonder what else jk rowling is not telling us! haha!
Posted Oct 20, 2007 at 3:09 AM EST
Dragon Rider
Points: 4412
~MalfoyPotter~ says:
I was blasted away by the title of this story. But I've always predicted that Dumbledore was gay, with his ways with Grindlewand and his affection towards Harry and him not having a wife etc. Thats a first gay in this straight series. :)
Yay for Molly!
~MP~
Posted Oct 20, 2007 at 3:17 AM EST
Dumbledore's Girl
Points: 4445
flyby says:
Wow that never even crossed my mind ! I suppose it explains why he never got married or had kids. I figured he was so occupied with being a genius he didn't have time for it all.
Posted Oct 20, 2007 at 4:09 AM EST
Snape's Soulmate
Points: 4714
theunbreakablesnapefan says:
Finally. One character at least had to have been intended homosexual.
I'm so glad she didn't kill Arthur. I really love his character, and a Ron without humor is a blank, apathetic sort of person, really. *sad*
Posted Oct 20, 2007 at 4:59 AM EST
Prefect
Points: 394
Aberforth Puckle says:
I honestly thought you'd been hacked for a second there. But other sites are agreeing. Wow, way to really annoy the conservative right!
Posted Oct 20, 2007 at 5:24 AM EST
Order of Merlin, 1st Class
Points: 1835
tsvety says:
Wow, I'm surprised (as everybody else, hehe)! But I guess it makes sense... How can you live more than a 100 years and not find love :P
Lina
Posted Oct 20, 2007 at 5:31 AM EST
Auror
Points: 2220
Lilaclumos says:
I was so happy when I read this on Sky News that Dumbledore was gay, I don't know why I was happy about it exactly...but with Dumbledore...it just makes him make sense that little bit more =)
Posted Oct 20, 2007 at 5:34 AM EST
Student
Points: 290
harry_potterfan says:
Rowling could have kept that Dumbledore part to herself...I mean so many kids adore him
Posted Oct 20, 2007 at 5:41 AM EST
Order of Merlin, 4th Class
Points: 1359
Bullwinkle says:
Wow i am so shocked! This is something i never really thought about, but it is true! Wow! I always thought Dumbledore was too busy to get married and such...
Anyway very interesting! I wonder if anyone else was!
Posted Oct 20, 2007 at 5:48 AM EST
Witch
Points: 745
Mrs._Sirius says:
And just when I thought that I could not admire J.K.Rowling and Albus Dumbledore anymore then I already do, I am most pleasantly surprised!!! I love that she is this open minded. I love that Dumbledore gave up his true love to support the good side, and even dueled him and put him in prison for life. But he also never looked for another. He devoted his life to teaching and protecting not only the magical world, but the muggle world too! It is really sad that he never found another, but wonderful that he was such an optimistic and happy person. I think this news is awesome!! Thanks again Jo!!
Posted Oct 20, 2007 at 8:28 AM EST
Prefect
Points: 339
Rudeboy2025 says:
Hmmmmm. Okay. That was weird.
Posted Oct 20, 2007 at 8:44 AM EST
Wizard
Points: 650
Gryffindor's prefect says:
Dumbledore is gay?!!! That is a bit of a shock, I never even thought of that!!
Posted Oct 20, 2007 at 9:04 AM EST
Auror
Points: 2079
mar66 says:
WOW, i really don't know what to think right now haha. All i can do is laugh becuase i'm so surprised!! I did NOT expect that at allllll. I think i would be fine with it but the thought of Dumbledore's love for Harry keeps creeping into my mind and that just sort of weirds me out...
Like someone said before though, and it makes me chuckle, Dumbledore always was a snazzy dresser!! :]
Posted Oct 20, 2007 at 9:26 AM EST
Wizard
Points: 779
Silly Dragon says:
This is quite unexpected, I must say, but does not destroy the character. It simply brings another dimension to Dumbledore, a more complex character than it first seemed. I am pleased to learn the JKR is personally correcting the scenario of the movies, and hope she will keep a strict eye on it, to avoid major flaws that are so simple to avoid.
Posted Oct 20, 2007 at 9:36 AM EST
Auror
Points: 2661
Chogiiiirl says:
Well, I was a bit shocked to learn this fact from Jo herself. However, it does seem to make a bit of sense, with the staying unmarried and being such a snazzy dresser and all. I'm actually a Christian conservative, but this info doesn't really bother me, because it wasn't the focus of the books, and not even mentioned in them. This could be some of the reason that DD looked out for Harry and the underdogs at Hogwarts so much, because he felt like an outsider himself at times. This new info kind of makes me think of Patricia Pollaco's "Thank You, Mr. Faulker", which was based on how a young, snazzy dressing male teacher taught the author to read when she was a girl. The real Mr. Faulker was gay, and felt often like an outsider, so he was more likely to help a little girl who felt like an outsider as well. Knowing these facts about either of these books doesn't make me love them any less. It actually makes the characters more human and realistic, having their own struggles.
Posted Oct 20, 2007 at 9:47 AM EST
Head Boy
Points: 415
øffe-joe687½ says:
He is gay!
So what? That dosent matter. Homosexuality is just one of the many variables of life. Its good that the gay people can find one character they like.
But i think it sounded really idiotic that people cheered that Dumbledore was gay! Really, it not like he won a nobel-prise or anything, he is just gay - that is a normal, nothing to cheer about. But then again the pink-political-correctness-mafia strikes again, i suppose.
But that dosent change the fact that this is a funny and cool twist to Harry Potter Lore :-)
Posted Oct 20, 2007 at 9:48 AM EST
The Charmer
Points: 2801
Amarantine says:
"Dumbledore is gay" - fantastic! Unexpected, but fantastic nonetheless. He does dress well...
Posted Oct 20, 2007 at 9:52 AM EST
Professor
Points: 1154
sapphire260 says:
Although most of you are fine with it, and a lot of you "knew" he was gay, I had no clue. After all these years Jo coulden't of kept this to herself? My respect for her has gone down a little. I am hoping maybe that this is a joke, but if she announced it...well..umm...i don't know what else to say. I don't agree with the whole homosexual, i am Christian, so I am glad that it shows no trace of that in the books because I don't want to read about it. One of the reasons I loved Harry Potter because it did not have same-sex in it. I mean come on, if you really believed that Dumbledore was gay before she came out with this peice of information then show me the proof. I have read through the comments and have seen some passages, but they are frankly not good enough for me. I think that she just decided to announce it, I don't think it was planned at all, so I am not very exited about this.
As for Neville and Hannah, that is so exciting! Poor Hagrid, I feel bad for him.
Posted Oct 20, 2007 at 9:52 AM EST
Hobbit at Heart
Points: 2680
DangerousBookworm says:
O_o
Dumbledore? Um...Well...I can certainly say I didn't see THAT coming. But yeah, it's understandable.
And...Neville and Hannah Abbott?
Posted Oct 20, 2007 at 10:01 AM EST
Auror
Points: 2049
kermittounette says:
I don't know what to say, I thought that Dumbledore was a bit different, but I didn't think about that difference. Well it is interesting to know some things after, I hope to learn a lot more.
Posted Oct 20, 2007 at 10:05 AM EST
Keeper of Harry's Fate
Points: 7985
TheOneWhoMustBeNamed says:
Interesting comments to be sure. At least you can say she answers how she feels and does not worry about the effects. Some of these are liable for a time to give people pause.
Posted Oct 20, 2007 at 10:21 AM EST
Witch
Points: 528
~AlyPotter~ says:
I was very surprised to hear this news. However, I am not bothered by it one bit. I have nothing against homosexuals and this in no way changes my opinion on what I think of dumbledore and how much I like him. The other questions were great too as well as the responses. There are still so many more questions to ask. Keep on rocking Jo!!!!
Posted Oct 20, 2007 at 10:37 AM EST
Professor
Points: 1173
snaily says:
I must say I'm a little more than shocked!! Not once in my reading the entire series did I think of this possibility!
Though it's come from Jo herself, the information still doesn't appeal to me. I really thought that he had a female love. I even thought that he must've lost her in a very tragic way and that might've been the reason for him not having married.
Posted Oct 20, 2007 at 10:38 AM EST
Student
Points: 286
Slytherines_ballet_dancer says:
Oh! My! God!
That was unexpected!
Posted Oct 20, 2007 at 10:43 AM EST
Witch
Points: 922
Lilium says:
Wow! Good one JK! I was shocked at first! I thought it was a joke! But I supose I shouldn't be so surprised. It's a very interesting idea, but I hope it doesn't change many people's view about him... I know it did for my best friend... too bad.
Posted Oct 20, 2007 at 10:45 AM EST
226-232
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