J.K. Rowling recently announced that she will take legal action against a fan page called Wizarding News.
Wizarding News posted a tweet about Rowling and her eldest daughter:
“Reminder that JK Rowling’s eldest daughter (the one with whom she was famously pregnant while writing Harry Potter) changed her last name to literally get away from Rowling and moved to Portugal.”
After seeing the tweet, Rowling stated that this was false news:
“Could somebody who isn’t blocked by this account tell them this is untrue in all respects, as I suspect they already know? Lying about my kids is a new low, even by this website’s subterranean standards.”
Things escalated quickly, and the author is now on her way to involve her lawyers.
Check out the tweet below:
Could somebody who isn’t blocked by this account tell them this is untrue in all respects, as I suspect they already know. Lying about my kids is a new low, even by this website’s subterranean standards. pic.twitter.com/q2Gmd9SGux
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) March 20, 2024
Fans Joined the Debate, And It Made Things Worse
Activist Kellie-Jay Keen responded to Rowling following this tweet. She wrote:
“Trans activists name my children, share their photos, identify their schools and even take the piss out of them (that was a journalist TRA who writes for the Atlantic)”
The author responded:
“I’m really sorry to hear that. I’ve fought for more than a quarter of a century to enable my kids to live outside the spotlight.”
Another fan wrote that Rowling shouldn’t bother herself with false claims from an account that doesn’t reveal their real face or name. Rowling explained why she took it to the heart:
“The person being lied about happens to be one of the people I love best in the world, and when I hear stress or pain in her voice because malicious falsehoods have been written about her, I’m not minded to ignore it.”
She then posted a lengthy tweet to address what bothered her this much:
“1. Contrary to your claims, we are very close and last talked an hour ago. We discussed your posts, which have angered and distressed her.
2. Contrary to your claims, she doesn’t live in Portugal.
3. Contrary to your claims, she has no children.
4. The young mother whose photograph and personal details you published is not my daughter and has no relation to me whatsoever.
You’ve published easily disproven and damaging falsehoods. Should we go to legal proceedings, you will need to show why, in spite of being told the truth, you neither retracted nor apologized. In the absence of any such retraction and apology, the next communication you receive will be from my lawyer.”
Here is her full statement:
.@wizardingnews I've done everything I can to keep my children out of the public eye. My eldest daughter doesn't owe you or anyone else details of her private life. However, for the avoidance of doubt:
1. Contrary to your claims, we are very close and last talked an hour ago. We…
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) March 20, 2024
The Apology Came, But It Wasn’t What JKR Wanted
Wizarding News later issued an apology. They admitted that they possibly mixed Rowling’s daughter up with another person of a similar name found in online articles. However, they continued to criticize Rowling in their statement:
“We are unreservedly sorry to JK Rowling’s eldest daughter for understandably mixing her up with a VERY coincidentally named person found in multiple published online articles & biographies identifying her as such and extrapolating & sharing inaccurate details therefrom.
Guess you could say we were following JKR’s example: ‘researching’ something & then immediately regurgitating it, [in our case unintentionally] spreading what some consider to be harmful falsehoods about others… which is what Rowling does to LGBTQ+ people daily.
We’ll be cleaning up some of the tweets she found objectionable at our earliest convenience, but this is our final word and apology on this matter. JK Rowling is the problem, not her family, and we shall be better focused going forward.”
Rowling then saw these tweets and said this wasn’t a ‘real’ apology:
“No real apology, no retraction, continuing to insinuate I’m lying. This is not my daughter. Are you so deluded you imagine I’d deny something so easily proven if true? Your behavior is not only despicable but dangerous.”
One fan claimed that what Rowling was doing was just giving them the attention they wanted. It appears the author then got tired of all this:
“Lawyers are on it. I’m done.”
Here are the tweets:
Lawyers are on it. I’m done.
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) March 21, 2024
