What's Dumbledore's sexual orientation?
Albus Dumbledore is gay, according to author JK Rowling. During a Q&A with Rowling at Carnegie Hall in 2007, after the final Harry Potter book had come out, she was asked if Dumbledore had ever been in love. She replied: "My truthful answer to you … I always thought of Dumbledore as gay. Dumbledore fell in love with Grindelwald, and that added to his horror when Grindelwald showed himself to be what he was" (referring, as fans may know, to Grindelwald turning out to be a dark wizard). Want to test your Harry Potter trivia knowledge? Try our Harry Potter trivia quiz!
Is Dumbledore's sexuality mentioned in the Harry Potter books?
No, Dumbledore's sexuality is not explicitly addressed in the book series. Rowling claims she didn't clarify Dumbledore's sexual orientation in the books due to a fear of backlash from homophobic readers. Are there any hints in the books at all? Not really. Some fans have retroactively attempted to identify "signs" from the books that Dumbledore was gay, but beyond his general flamboyant behavior (he loves socks and hats and eccentric colors) and apparent parallel to real-life gay genius Leonardo Da Vinci, there's really no evidence in the books to hint at his orientation.
What about the movies?
Dumbledore's sexuality isn't addressed in the Harry Potter films. Just as Dumbledore's sexuality wasn't explicit in the books, neither was it mentioned in the blockbuster film adaptation. That said, Rowling claims she told writers working on the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince screenplay that Dumbledore was gay after learning they'd planned to give him a line about a girl he once knew in a flirtatious/romantic context: "I had to write a little note in the margin and slide it along to the scriptwriter, 'Dumbledore's gay!'"
His sexuality is more prevalent in the Fantastic Beasts spinoffs. The Fantastic Beasts films were made after Rowling's public announcement that Dumbledore was gay, and they take place before the events described in the original series. While the first two films in the series don't really touch on Dumbledore's sexuality, the third film in the franchise, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (2022), explores the relationship between a young Dumbledore and Grindelwald in more depth.
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