J.K. Rowling doubles down on transphobic stance

J.K. Rowling has caused controversy online again, after wading into the debate of transgender people by criticising police in Scotland for allowing rape suspects to self-identify as female.

The author, who has previously been condemned for her transphobic views, took to Twitter on Sunday to share an article titled ‘Absurdity’ of police logging rapists as women.

Sharing the article, Rowling added “War is Peace. Freedom is Slavery. Ignorance is Strength. The Penised Individual Who Raped You Is a Woman,” referencing George Orwell’s 1984.

The article she shared stated, “Police Scotland said that they would log rapes as being carried out by a woman if the accused person insists, even if they have not legally changed gender.”

Thousands of fans instantly hit back at Rowling, with many people accusing her of having a fixation on transgender issues.

“You literally have a castle and you spend your time doing this,” podcaster Rob Rousseau wrote.

“What a weird hill to die on Rowling,” producer Brett Erlich added.

Another person pointed out that Rowling was paying attention to the wrong part of the story, and instead should use her platform to advocate for rape victims.

“The vast majority of sexual assaults are committed by men who don’t identify as anything other than men. Perhaps you might consider using your public profile to combat this instead?” they stated.

A fourth referenced one of her Harry Potter characters, the evil Professor Umbridge, saying, “Imagine inventing as reprehensible a character as Prof. Umbridge and then deciding to be her forever.”

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