‘Harry Potter’ creator J.K. Rowling marked the fifth anniversary of her first social media post directed at transgender activists.
Rowling reposted an old Twitter post from December 19, 2019 (before it was renamed X), in which she criticized the firing of a British woman for stating that there are only two genders. Rowling’s original post read: “Dress however you please. Call yourself whatever you like. Sleep with any consenting adult who’ll have you. Live your best life in peace and security. But force women out of their jobs for stating that sex is real?”
She revisited this post on Wednesday, adding:
“Five years ago today and my only regret is that I didn’t speak out sooner. To every girl and woman who’s paid a heavy price for fighting to retain their rights and boundaries, to every person striving to halt an appalling medical experiment on minors, I salute you. We will win.”
Since that post, Rowling has faced significant backlash from various quarters. Even the stars of the ‘Harry Potter’ franchise have publicly opposed the author’s views. Daniel Radcliffe, who played the titular character in the films, criticized Rowling’s stance in an open letter to the pro-LGBTQ organization The Trevor Project in 2020.
He stated:
“Transgender women are women. Any statement to the contrary erases the identity and dignity of transgender people and goes against all advice given by professional health care associations who have far more expertise on this subject matter than either Jo or I.”
That same year, series star Emma Watson also addressed Rowling’s rhetoric on social media, writing: “Trans people are who they say they are and deserve to live their lives without being constantly questioned or told they aren’t who they say they are.”
Rowling has since responded to the actors, posting in 2024 that they can “save their apologies.”
“Celebs who cosied up to a movement intent on eroding women’s hard-won rights and who used their platforms to cheer on the transitioning of minors can save their apologies for traumatised detransitioners and vulnerable women reliant on single-sex spaces,” she wrote.
More recently, Rowling criticized HBO late-night host John Oliver for defending transgender women’s participation in women’s sports competitions.
