J.K.
Rowling has once again angered fans after firing off another transphobic tweet amid
the release of the newest Fantastic Beasts trailer, as the controversial conversation
becomes a trending topic on the Internet.
Let’s get into it.
This wouldn’t be the first time Harry Potter author J.K.
Rowling has come under fire for her extremely controversial comments surrounding trans people,
but it seems she’s once again refusing to stay silent on the matter.
On the same day as the trailer for the upcoming Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore
trailer was released, J.K. also released a response to a report by The Sunday Times alleging
that Scottish police will, “record rapes by offenders with male genitalia as being
committed by a woman if the attacker ‘identifies as a female.'”
On Monday morning, she linked The Times article, which also claims that, according to the Scottish
Sun, the government wants to remove medical checks for those seeking a gender recognition
certificate and shorten the time people have to live as their new gender before it is legally
recognised.
J.K, who has previously expressed her issues with trans women, tweeted alongside the article,
“War is Peace.
Freedom is Slavery.
Ignorance is Strength.
The Penised Individual Who Raped You Is a Woman.”
Naturally, the Internet immediately began firing off their own opinions in response
to J.K.'s controversial tweet, many of which simply wonder why she’s choosing to be known
as this controversial public figure as her name began trending all over Twitter.
One user tweeted, “Why is this how you want to be remembered?
Why is this the hill you've chosen?
What do you stand to gain from this?
You have nothing to lose, but we stand to lose everything.”
Another person wrote, “JK Rowling, a person made famous for writing about wizards and
magic and horse-birds and giant murder trees, wants to tell you that trans people don’t
exist.”
More Harry Potter references began flooding in, like this one where a fan wrote, “Jesus.
You just double down on hate regularly?
I didn't realize that Dolores Umbridge was autobiographical.”
And for those Potterheads who are well-aware of the awful human that is Professor Umbridge,
no further explanation on her character is needed.
With that said, there were some users, including journalist Andy Ngo, who praised J.K. for
her “bravery” in expressing her opinions, as well as this person who praised her fight
to preserve the rights of women.
Many have since come forward standing in unity with the LGBTQ+ community since J.K.’s initial
criticism of trans women back in June of 2020 when she made headlines for her stance on
“women who menstruate”.
She shared her opinions on the matter following an article that recognized that not every
person who experiences a period identifies as female, writing, “‘People who menstruate.’
I’m sure there used to be a word for those people.
Someone help me out.
Wumben?
Wimpund?
Woomud?”
She received massive amounts of backlash and even garnered responses from Harry Potter
stars Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson and Fantastic Beasts actor Eddie Redmayne, who
both confirmed their stance and vowed to continue to stand with trans
people.
Daniel issued a lengthy response via The Trevor Project, a nonprofit organization for suicide
prevention specifically for those who identify as LGBTQ+.
He wrote, “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.”
Emma also chimed in, posting a series of tweets that showed her support for trans people and
even vowed to donate to two charities supporting trans women and children.
We’ll be sure to keep you updated with any new developments to this story.
In lighter Harry Potter news, click right over here to check out the first official
photo of the upcoming 20th anniversary cast reunion special.
Then be sure to let me know all your thoughts on JK’s latest transphobic remark right
down here in the comments.
I’m your host Sussan Mourad, you can find me on my socials @sussan_mourad, and I’ll
see you guys next time.