... Um, well, okay. Thanks for that Jo. This isn't a joke? Well, I guess not. I seriously asked myself if it was April 1st when I read this, but I guess it isn't even close. Ummm. I'm sure on fanfiction.net, there was just 25 Dumbledore/Grindelwald stories submitted today.... *blinks*

JK: Hmm, what's the one thing the far right hates worse than witchcraft...I've got it!

...-dies- This has to be a joke...ohmygosh

Anyone who thinks that Jo is just doing this for publicity is wrong. Dumbledore being gay doesn't change that he was an amazing character. Also, Jo has created an entire, very detailed, universe for her characters and I'm sure she had Dumbledore as gay from the very start.

Man... JKR's going over the top with all the post DH info.... The books are over, lady... leave it at that, stop making up info on characters AFTER the rushed-up book came out. Whatever if Dumbledore's gay... just stop making up all the "new info" that's not in any book.

i feel like this is the right way to go with Dumbledore, cause i always thought he's like a superman, can do basically everything......now.....a ll the past revealed, feels like he is a real character now, especially with this, like someone is possible to find in the real world, a real person, not some fictional character.

wow....... I would NEVER have expected that one....... but ok. GO NEVILLE!!!!!!!!!

My comment about the necessity of announcing that Dumbledore is gay isn't intended to be homophobic. It's a matter of narrative detail. Whether Dumbledore is straight or gay is an irrelevant detail that does nothing important for the narrative. I can't figure out why she'd even bring it up. Not everyone feels a need to know whether people are straight or gay. Can't they just be? Rowling's commentary on it feels merely titillating. I adore the books, but I find Rowling a little sloppy at times. (James Potter comes to mind.)

HANNAH AND NEVILLE?!!?!?!

whoaaaaaaa what? it all makes sense now! but still, i would have rather not known this. its nothing against being gay, its just.....dumbledore? gay? what? i always thought he had some secret lady lover that died in battle a long time ago. ill just keep thinking that lol

OH MY GOD! Is this a joke? I am totally cool with Dumbledore's lifestyle now, but it's still a little new to me...

I still think the Dobby/Giant Squid ship is cooler though.

It has to be a joke. The Harry Potter fandom would have been much smaller otherwise. Personally, I would not have read and loved the series if one of the main characters had been gay. What kind of "children's book" would that be? That type of "lifestyle" may be acceptable in Britain, but its not viewed so favorably everywhere (like the entire Southern United States). While there are exceptions here, they are the extreme minority.

Now every single Dumbledore-Grindelwald mention in the book comes off as romantic... JKR's always trying to be high and mighty with the stuff she puts in her books... I like em, but it's really annoying... like she's going for a nobel prize or something.

lisamz said: "My comment about the necessity of announcing that Dumbledore is gay isn't intended to be homophobic. It's a matter of narrative detail. Whether Dumbledore is straight or gay is an irrelevant detail that does nothing important for the narrative. I can't figure out why she'd even bring it up. Not everyone feels a need to know whether people are straight or gay." I was thinking almost the same thing as you - I don't care if Dumbledore is gay or straight. I am not a homophobe (e.g., I don't believe being gay is a sin and I support the desire of homosexuals to get married if they so wish). HOWEVER, I am a mother of small children and the thought that children under the age of puberty heard this information bothers me. And it bothers me that some student (how old were they?) asked the question and that she answered it. I expected JKR, as a mother, to dodge the question and leave it for a later time (if at all). It's like the teacher reading the story about a Prince marrying a Prince to a bunch of SECOND GRADERS! Homosexuality involves discussions about sex, which at the tender age of BEFORE puberty, should be discussed by the parents, not others. Maybe someday it will be so accepted that it won't even be given a second thought. But that's not now. That's the only problem I have with it. Otherwise, who cares!

Wow! I never would have guessed that about our favorite Headmaster, but now that i think about Dumbledore did seem a little flamboyant...no wonder he was sad about Grindewald. And I'm so sad that Neville got together with Hannah, it absolutely ends my hope that Neville and Luna got together :( Boo on that note! But i think it's actually kinda cool about Dumbledore.

I understand that a lot of you are young, but if you think that gay = pedophile then you need some serious educating. Most pedophiles are hetero. I'm really appalled that in 2007, people don't know enough to realize that a person's sexuality doesn't mean a thing in regard to who they are as a person. I know this is fiction, but how we react to fictional characters is often reflective of how we react to real people. Those of you who are saying this changes everything about how you feel about the character and cracking jokes about him having inappropriate feelings for Harry should just line up with the intolerant Laura Mallorys of the world. You're no better than she is.

i'm thinking about the guys that Dumbledore had "contact" with.......trying to figure out how he treated them...........

That's just sad. Call me what you will, but phobic would mean that I'm afraid, which I'm not. I find that choice in lifestyle immoral and can't believe JKR would bring it up or have made a gay character. I have been a defender of the series from the beginning. I have always said that if JKR had chosen to call them all wizards and left out the word witch this series would be mentioned among the great Christian allegories like Narnia and LOTR. Both of which had wizards and magic and fantasy worlds. But this -- I can't defend. I just hope my daughter doesn't get a hold of this one.

Well, Tony_the_Terrible, the completeness of the world of Harry Potter is what makes the books as amazing as they are. She has to write them as they are to her, or it would be lying. To herself as well as to her fans, and the deep south of the US is not her only target audience (not to mention that she isn't from there...). And, as you said, even there, there are exceptions.

The fact that he's gay shouldn't have anything to do with the story being read to young children. Seeing as she never mentions once in any of the books what his sexuality is you wouldn't ever need to tell younger kids until they're older and can understand those sorts of things. So what is the big deal? Jo is an author who has clearly made some very well developed characters and isn't afraid to set limits just to please people with certain beliefs and I applaud her for that.

Aw. I respect the homosexual community, but why Dumbledore? It's a bit awkward. Oh well. :) Either way, Dumbledore still was a good character. I'm just overwhelmed. Personally, I hope those really religious families (who actually let their children read HP because they know of the family values and see the witchcraft as fantasy) don't get offended by this... And I hope that Mallory woman doesn't try to use this to her advantage.

just to be a little clear on this, it's not i don't accept this fact, i just feel like it's a possible side that might be revealed to help the characterization of Dumbledore, read my earlier post for further information. On a side note, i feel really really dumb, because everyone is discussing this issue very educated, while i talk about stuff that is completely off topic. I 'll just watch and continue to make random comments............

oh god. now we're gonna have to listen to laura mallory again.

Yay for Gay Dumbledore! Ha, I knew it!

say WHAT?????? WOW that's a twist. hahaaaaa. oh man imagine the fan fics. oh god. And to all the bad comments...um shut up?

I’m pretty sure Jo said that Minerva never loved Albus other then a friend. So we knew that even before this information. It’s not like people who like them together can’t still ship them and write about them

I am a mother of young children, and my 8-year-old has read all 7 of the HP series. Being a mother does not divorce me from reality. If a Prince marries a Princess, that is just as indicative of sexuality as if a Prince marries a Prince. It's a statement either way! If you want to ban the one from literature, you should also ban the other. If you know children, they'll get over it unless you make a big deal about something. For example, my 7 year old spent most of his 3-year-old year planning to marry his sister. I didn't dump cold water on his plans because I knew he'd get over it. And my 8-year-old is aware that a male friend of mine had a commitment ceremony with his male partner of 4 years. She thinks they're lovely people. Evil is in the eye of the beholder.

Oh no! Laura Mallory! Save me. Dumbledore being gay is just weird. I have nothing AT ALL against gay characters in HP, but Dumbledore is jsut not the one I would've picked. If you said Neville, I'd be fine. Zacharias Smith? That makes sense. Just not Dumbledore! I feel betrayed.

stfu. no one "knew it" why would you ever think Dumbledore was gay, or in fact why is JKR introducing this info. It doesn't have any relavance.

this just destroys my image of dumbly...i thought he was a straight leaf

Hissing_riddle, why is it awkward? If we look back at the series now, i'm sure there will be little hints about his sexuality, i'm already starting to think about some. But the fact that now everyone is thinking about every time Dumbledore spoke to some guy in a different light is just sad...

Okay, this is getting laughable. Just outright bizarre. Can someone just tell this woman to STFU? I think she's pulling half of this crap straight out of her arse. It's just not necessary. And I'm not referring to DD, I'm referring to all of the things she's said on this tour.

Huh? Well, I must say that Jo waited to pull that one out of the hat:) There's the gay character that people wanted... Actually to tell you the truth I feel vindicated--I always though thought that Dumbledore might be gay. No one ever believed me! HAHAHA!! FINALLY ONE OF MY WACKO THEORIES IS CORRECT!!:)

P.S. When I say, "Evil is in the eye of the beholder," it doesn't mean I'm not aware that there are some universal evils, such as cruelty, murder, etc. But people who worry about homosexuality always seem much too interested in other people's business. And before someone says they can handle homosexuality as long as it's not flaunted, let me add that a man who marries a woman is 'flaunting' his sexuality just as much as a man who marries a man. Either action makes the person's sexuality quite obvious and in your face.

kudos Sonja. Well she answered because someone asked. And fyi, some people out there DO care about the sexuality of the characters.

Hmmm...guess it fits. It does add a different dimension to the odd relationship of those two. She never really laid any grounds to suspect it. I don't remember Neville and Hanna ever interacting. I guess things changed. Perhaps we missed something in that last year in Harry's absence? Also, well, Neville was pretty awesome by book's end. Good for them. I wish them happiness. The statement Petunia considered making was along the lines of what I would have suspected. Either that or some statement about her break with Lily would have worked.

what?!? well i didnt see that one coming.

Oh. God. No. ANYONE but Dumbledore. I seriously have no problem with gay people but for some reason this is really bothering me. I would rather it be Sirius than Dumbledore, even though I'd prefer no gay characters at all. It's just a bit too real, and makes the fantasy of Dumbledore's character go away a little bit. I'm sorry, but if this is true I'm never going to be able to see Dumbledore the same way again.

I don't see why people are wonderingg why Jo brought it up. Someone asked a question about Dumbledore's love life, and she answered it. She didn't just call a press conference and say HEY GUESS WHAT! DUMBLEDORE IS GAY!!! It's a bit like asking a male friend if they have a girlfriend, they say no, they're gay, and you say OMG TMI! Why did you bring it up, it's not relevent to ANYTHING!

One name: Laura Mallory. This just incredibly blows my mind. I guess if you think about it though, it makes sense. There's those incredibly awesome tiny details in there that are almost meant to be misinterpreted as nothingness. And addressing the fact that this is a "children's series": You don't have to tell your 8 year old anything about it. I don't find that it changes his character all that much; we're now just more enlightened.

lets not get fussy like stinky couches felows..

I kind of want to reread the series now and see it from a "Dumbledore loved Grindelwald" point of view. See if his discussions of Grindelwald are any different. So, did Dumbledore and Grindelwald actually have a relationship? OHHH what's Voldemort's sexuality?! Someone needs to ask her that! I really have been curious.... Maybe he's been dating Bella? Seems like it. On another note, (based on a comment): I'm from GA and frankly there are plenty of people (such as myself) who completely approving of homosexuality. I'm tired of people stereotyping me based on where I live.

I knew it! This is so neat! Happiness! :)

JKR was bringing up plenty of information on characters that didn't really matter now that the books are over. People are just questioning her motives on this one because it's a controversial issue. personally, I had half-thought Dumbledore was gay a few times, but never really seriously considered it because it was a children's book, and though I'd love JKR to, I didn't believe she would ever go there.

Well I was actually at the book signing. The actual question that started it was if Dumbledore, the one who showed us so much about love, ever was in love himself. J.k. sort of paused for a momement then said well, actually I always sort of pictured him as gay. Then she elabborated and said he was in love with Gellert. So no Dumbledore's sexuality isn't important it was just how she saw the character in her mind. We should have saw this coming though. He does wear purple boots the first time we see him. On a side note the book signing was amazing. J.K. is so funny in person especially when she reads. Also she asked me what happened to my leg(i am on crutches) so I got to talk to her about how i injured myself before thanking her. Now I can officially say I met J.K. Rowling!

i think voldemort is asexual.

YES! People have said that slashers are sick, twisted, and wrong. WELL THIS TIME, WE'RE RIGHT ON TARGET! This just goes to show that homosexuality is NORMAL and OKAY and BEAUTIFUL, and anyone who still has a problem with it these days ought to take their heads out of the sand. It even exists in the wizarding world, thankyouverymuch. WOOHOOOOOOOOO GO DUMBLEDORE, I LOVE YOU!

Phoenixsong--Thanks for sharing that you were at the signing. Congrats! I hope your leg is happy soon.

Tsk tsk. It's sad, really - some of the comments here make me wonder whether the people who posted them have even read the books. Tolerance, anyone?