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J.K Rowling hits back at haters

Harry Potter author J.K Rowling has addressed her controversial comments about transgender people in her new podcast, calling out those who claimed she “ruined” her legacy. In the first two episodes of her podcast, The Witch Trials of J.K Rowling, the author claims she “never set out to upset anyone” by sharing her opinions on gender ideology numerous times, with some people branding her as “transphobic”. Rowling said what has “interested" her in the past year, particularly on social media, is the people saying, “you’ve ruined your legacy” and “you could have been beloved forever but you chose to say this”. The author hit back, saying, “I think you could not have misunderstood me more profoundly. “I do not walk around my house, thinking about my legacy. You know, what a pompous way to live your life – walking around thinking, ‘What will my legacy be?’ "Whatever. I’ll be dead. I care about it now. I care about the living.” Rowling made waves in June 2020 when she mocked an article that used the phrase “People who menstruate”. The author responded on Twitter, “I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?” She also wrote a 3,600-word essay in response to the backlash, explaining why she was so “worried about the new trans activism” and the effort “to erode the legal definition of sex and replace it with gender”. Rowling has strongly denied the accusations of transphobia and described transgender women having access to female bathrooms as throwing “open the doors of bathrooms and changing rooms to any man who believes or feels he’s a woman”. Her 2020 novel, Troubled Blood, which was published under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith, featured a cisgender male serial killer who dresses like a woman to lure his victims. LGBTQIA+ charity community labelled this a “longstanding and somewhat tired trope, responsible for the demonisation of a small group of people”. In the past, users on Twitter discovered Rowling had also liked a tweet that referred to transgender women as “men in dresses”. The cast members of Harry Potter, Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson, have all spoken out in support of the trans community in the wake of Rowling’s comments. The Witch Trials of J.K Rowling podcast, produced by the Free Press, is hosted by American political activist Megan Phelps-Roper. It appears that Phelps-Roger tries to draw similarities between the threats from rightwing religious groups who wanted to ban Harry Potter and the backlash the author has received from trans activists in recent years. In 2000, Rowling and her team were forced to leave a bookstore during a signing due to a bomb threat by an alleged far-right religious fundamentalist. Rowling shared that she had “direct threats of violence” made against her. “I have had people coming to my house where my kids live, and I’ve had my address posted online. I’ve had what the police, anyway, would regard as credible threats,” she said in her podcast. Rowling warned against the idea of “black and white thinking”, saying it is often the “easiest” and “safest” place to be for many people. She added, “Many people mistake that rush of adrenaline for the voice of conscience. In my worldview, conscience speaks in a very small and inconvenient voice, and it’s normally saying to you: ‘Think again, look more deeply, consider this.’” Image credit: Getty

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Daniel Radcliffe speaks out against J.K. Rowlings's transphobic allegations

Daniel Radcliffe has spoken out about J.K. Rowling amid ongoing transphobic allegations. In a recent interview with IndieWire, the Harry Potter actor claimed he "wouldn't be able to look at himself" if he didn't take a stand against her harmful views. Radcliffe said he felt it was his responsibility to protect his fans from Rowling's rhetoric, while making clear he does not share the same views. He said, “The reason I felt very, very much as though I needed to say something when I did was because, particularly since finishing ‘Potter,’ I’ve met so many queer and trans kids and young people who had a huge amount of identification with ‘Potter’ on that.” “And so seeing them hurt on that day I was like, I wanted them to know that not everybody in the franchise felt that way. And that was really important.” Radcliffe’s letter was aired on the website of The Trevor Project, a non-profit organisation which focuses on suicide prevention efforts in the LGBTQI+ community. “It was really important as I’ve worked with the Trevor Project for more than 10 years, and so I don’t think I would’ve been able to look myself in the mirror had I not said anything,” Radcliffe added. “But it’s not mine to guess what’s going on in someone else’s head.” Rowling, 57, has come under fire numerous times for sharing messages on Twitter of a transphobic nature, which began with a tweet in June 2020, in which she disparaged use of the inclusive term “people who menstruate”. After several trans-exclusionary tweets, Radcliffe decided to share his own message of support, writing a piece addressing the saga, saying “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 [Rowling] or I.” Radcliffe added, “To all the people who now feel that their experience of the [‘Harry Potter’] books has been tarnished or diminished, I am deeply sorry for the pain these comments have caused you." “I really hope that you don’t entirely lose what was valuable in these stories to you.” Image credits: Getty Images

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Fans call JK Rowling out for ‘cartoonishly stereotypical’ character names

With the Harry Potter: Return to Hogwarts reunion special sparking renewed interest in the series, some fans have voiced concerns about the names of several minor characters. Character names such as Seamus Finnegan, Cho Chang, and Fleur Delacour have been highlighted as being “cartoonishly stereotypical”, with people pointing out that ‘Cho’ and ‘Chang’ are both surnames. Twitter user Ben Mahtin <a rel="noopener" href="https://twitter.com/BenMahtin/status/1477707150004826120" target="_blank">wrote</a>, “Every single non-white non-British character has a cartoonishly stereotypical name - Cho Chang, Seamus Finnigan, Viktor Krum, Fleur Delacour”. In addition, users found a 2014 tweet from Rowling where she responded to a fan enquiry about whether there were any Jewish wizards at Hogwarts by naming a character not seen in either the books or the movies, Anthony Goldstein. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> Anthony Goldstein. Ravenclaw. Jewish wizard. <a href="https://t.co/2oClCydHW3">pic.twitter.com/2oClCydHW3</a> — isi baehr-breen (its pronounced ‘izzy’) (@isaiah_bb) <a href="https://twitter.com/isaiah_bb/status/1477700531812454411?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 2, 2022</a></blockquote> Others pointed out other stereotypical names, including <a rel="noopener" href="https://twitter.com/failure2nd/status/1477713562114179073" target="_blank">Kingsley Shacklebolt</a>, as well as the fact that Finnegan, one of the few Irish characters in the series, has a habit of blowing things up. Of Cho Chang’s name, YouTuber Freddie Wong tweeted, “Two popular last names from two DIFFERENT KINDS of Asians!? Frankly, this was the first red flag we should’ve SEEN IT”. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> yo EVERY TIME I forget about how insane the name CHO CHANG is the internet REMINDS ME. Two popular last names from two DIFFERENT KINDS of Asians!? Frankly this was the first red flag we should've SEEN IT <a href="https://t.co/1NnoAwbB31">https://t.co/1NnoAwbB31</a> — Freddie Wong (@fwong) <a href="https://twitter.com/fwong/status/1477894030864228352?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 3, 2022</a></blockquote> Actress Katie Leung, who played Chang in the movies, spoke to the Chinese Chippy Girl podcast about her experience as Cho. Not only did she experience racist abuse from fans, but she was told by publicists not to talk about it. “I remember them saying to me, ‘Oh, look, Katie, we haven’t seen these, these websites that people are talking about. “And, you know, if you get asked that, just say it’s not true, say it’s not happening.’ And I just nodded my head. I was like, ‘OK, OK,’ even though I had seen it myself with my own eyes. I was like, ‘OK, yeah, I’ll just say everything’s great. “I was like, Googling myself at one point and I was on this website, which was kind of dedicated to the Harry Potter fandom, and I remember reading all the comments. It was a lot of racist s***,” Image: Taylor Hill/FilmMagic

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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.” <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> War is Peace. Freedom is Slavery. Ignorance is Strength. The Penised Individual Who Raped You Is a Woman.<a href="https://t.co/SyxFnnboM1">https://t.co/SyxFnnboM1</a> — J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) <a href="https://twitter.com/jk_rowling/status/1470092815506063365?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 12, 2021</a></blockquote> 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.” Image credits: Getty Images

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First look at the Harry Potter 20th Anniversary reunion

As 2021 marks 20 years since Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone hit the big screen, the cast of the iconic franchise are set to reunite in a special anniversary reunion. Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts will see the star-studded cast reminisce about the years they brought the wizarding world to life, and the everlasting impact the franchise has had on fans around the world. The special will bring cast such as Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Helena Bonham Carter, Tom Felton, Ralph Fiennes, Gary Oldman, Imelda Staunton and many more back to Hogwarts for the first time since 2011, when the final film in the franchise was released. Notably missing from the line-up is Harry Potter writer J.K Rowling, who was not invited to the reunion due to recent transphobic comments. In June 2020, Rowling tweeted an article with the title, "Opinion: Creating a more equal post-COVID-19 world for people who menstruate". Finding issue with the opinion piece, Rowling added, "'People who menstruate.' I'm sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?" The transphobic comments prompted the star cast of the Harry Potter movies to come out against her stance, with Emma Watson 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." "I want my trans followers to know that I and so many other people around the world see you, respect you and love you for who you are." Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts is set to air in Australia on New Year's Day, January 1, 2022, on the Binge streaming service. Check out the teaser trailer below. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/X2RzASP6cbA" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen=""></iframe> Image credits: Getty Images / Warner Bros - HBO Max

Outraged fans announce "death" of J.K. Rowling

<div class="post_body_wrapper"> <div class="post_body"> <div class="body_text "> J.K Rowling's new book called Troubled Blood has made fans furious, as it features a male serial killer who dresses as a woman while on violent killing sprees. Rowling has previously made controversial comments about the transgender community, including a range of tweets comparing hormone therapy to gay conversion therapy. Hormone therapy is where transgender people take sex hormones to align their bodies more closely with their gender identity and gay conversion therapy refers to the discredited practice of trying to change sexual orientation using psychological or spiritual means. Fans have had enough and have declared her "dead" by sending the hashtag #RIPJKRowling to the top of the Twitter trending charts. “In memory of jk rowling. she ain’t dead, but she killed her own career by proudly hating trans people & no one would really miss her that much anyway,” wrote one Twitter user. “#RIPJKRowling she (ain’t) dead but her career is,” added another. “Imagine getting cancelled so hard, we have to pretend that you died,” chimed in someone else. J.K Rowling has published five books under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith and Troubled Blood is the latest. In The Silkworm, the second novel in the series, Rowling portrays a trans character as being “unstable and aggressive.” “The meat of the book is the investigation into a cold case: the disappearance of GP Margot Bamborough in 1974, thought to have been a victim of Dennis Creed, a transvestite serial killer,” wrote the Telegraph in a review of the novel. “One wonders what critics of Rowling’s stance on trans issues will make of a book whose moral seems to be: never trust a man in a dress.” Rowling defended her past comments in an essay. “I’m concerned about the huge explosion in young women wishing to transition and also about the increasing numbers who seem to be detransitioning (returning to their original sex), because they regret taking steps that have, in some cases, altered their bodies irrevocably, and taken away their fertility,” she wrote. </div> </div> </div>

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JK Rowling reveals history of domestic abuse and sexual assault

JK Rowling has opened up about her experience with domestic abuse and sexual assault for the first time, in a lengthy and highly personal essay written in response to criticism of her public comments on transgender issues. In a 3,600-word statement published on her website on Wednesday, Rowling went into detail about how she became embroiled in an increasingly bitter and polarised debate around the concept of gender identity. The author said she was a “domestic abuse and sexual assault survivor”, citing this alongside her belief in freedom of speech and experience as a teacher as reasons behind her position. “I’m mentioning these things now not in an attempt to garner sympathy, but out of solidarity with the huge numbers of women who have histories like mine, who’ve been slurred as bigots for having concerns around single-sex spaces,” she wrote. The note came after the author took to Twitter to share a series of messages over the weekend about people who identify as trans. One tweet read: “If sex isn’t real, the lived reality of women globally is erased. I know and love trans people, but erasing the concept of sex removes the ability of many to meaningfully discuss their lives.” Since then, prominent figures have come out against Rowling, including Daniel Radcliffe and Eddie Redmayne, who both worked in the hugely successful Harry Potter franchise. Rowling said she was motivated to share her thoughts after reading about proposed “gender confirmation certificates” in Scotland, which allows trans people to change their sex on their birth certificates based on how they identify and not medical and psychiatric reports. She accused those who disagreed of “groupthink” and “relentless attacks”, saying that even though she believes trans people deserve protection due to the high rates of domestic and sexual violence they face, she did not agree that trans women who have not undergone hormone therapy or surgical transition to have access to single-sex spaces. “When you throw open the doors of bathrooms and changing rooms to any man who believes or feels he’s a woman – and, as I’ve said, gender confirmation certificates may now be granted without any need for surgery or hormones – then you open the door to any and all men who wish to come inside. That is the simple truth,” she wrote. She also confirmed that she was in her 20s when she dealt with physical abuse for the first time. “If you could come inside my head and understand what I feel when I read about a trans woman dying at the hands of a violent man, you’d find solidarity and kinship,” she wrote. Citing an unnamed poll, Rowling claimed that those who did not support preserving single-sex spaces were “only those privileged or lucky enough never to have come up against male violence or sexual assault, and who’ve never troubled to educate themselves on how prevalent it is”. She said she had been contacted by “huge numbers” of women who were afraid to speak publicly about trans reforms, and decried institutions and organisations she once admired for “cowering before the tactics of the playground”. She said she believed misogyny and sexism were reasons behind the 4,400% increase in the number of girls being referred for transitioning treatment in the past decade. “I’ve read all the arguments about femaleness not residing in the sexed body, and the assertions that biological women don’t have common experiences, and I find them, too, deeply misogynistic and regressive. It’s also clear that one of the objectives of denying the importance of sex is to erode what some seem to see as the cruelly segregationist idea of women having their own biological realities or – just as threatening – unifying realities that make them a cohesive political class … It isn’t enough for women to be trans allies. Women must accept and admit that there is no material difference between trans women and themselves,” she wrote. The essay sparked a heated debate on Twitter, with Emma Watson, who played Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter films, tweeting: “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.” In a second tweet, she said: “I want my trans followers to know that I and so many other people around the world see you, respect you and love you for who you are.”

Books

JK Rowling unveils new book and will donate all royalties

JK Rowling has unveiled a new children’s book, which she is releasing in chapters each weekday for children to enjoy during these “strange, unsettling times”. The author announced the news on Twitter, saying the upcoming book – titled The Ickabog – is not a spin-off of her best-selling Harry Potter series. Rowling said she wrote “most of the first draft” more than 10 years ago, while she was still writing the Harry Potter books. “A few weeks ago at dinner, I tentatively mooted the idea of getting The Ickabog down from the attic and publishing it for free, for children in lockdown,” Rowling said in a statement on Tuesday. “Over the last few weeks I’ve done a bit of rewriting and I’ve decided to publish The Ickabog for free online, so children on lockdown, or even those back at school during these strange, unsettling times, can read it or have it read to them.” Chapters of The Ickabog are being published every weekday until July 10 on <a href="https://theickabog.com/">The Ickabog website</a>. Rowling also invited young readers to draw illustrations for the story in an official competition being run by Scholastic. Winners will see their artwork in the book, which will be published in print, eBook and audiobook in November. “Creativity, inventiveness and effort are the most important things: we aren’t necessarily looking for the most technical skill!” she said. Rowling is pledging all author royalties from the book to “projects and organisations helping the groups most impacted by COVID-19”, she wrote on Twitter.

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JK Rowling’s kind deed for boy with down syndrome

JK Rowling has come to the aid of a young boy with down syndrome after retweeting an appeal to find the youngster’s glasses. The young boy, Archie, is going for eye surgery and requires his glasses. The Down Syndrome Centre in Ireland launched the social media appeal on May 30 to help find Archie’s glasses in time. Ann Marie Wyley requested JK Rowling retweet the appeal so they could track down the glasses faster. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> We lost Archies glasses today between Rutland Ave&St Stephens green.He goes in for eye surgery Thurs&we really need 2find they.Please Share! <a href="https://t.co/RURlp9rkBp">pic.twitter.com/RURlp9rkBp</a> — DownSyndromeCC (@downsyndromecc) <a href="https://twitter.com/downsyndromecc/status/869512528665116673">May 30, 2017</a></blockquote> <a href="https://twitter.com/downsyndromecc"> </a> The Down Syndrome Centre also tweeted several national broadcasters in Ireland, asking them to share the information so more people could be on the lookout. When the Down Syndrome Centre were asked if the glasses had showed up, they said, “No sign of them yet, he needs them for the operation. His poor mum Nicola has been waiting months for this operation and it will be cancelled without them.” Archie’s mum, Nicola Stanley, found an old pair of glasses at home that are expected to suffice if his original pair don’t show up. Nicola said, “We didn't find the glasses yet. However what I have found out is how wonderful people can be. Over 3000 times my post has been shared. I’ve had loads of messages wishing Archie good luck and even a few celebs on Twitter getting in on the action, including Jk Rowling... Madness! Thanks so much everyone for sharing. We found an old pair at home that will hopefully do. Tomorrow's a new day.”

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J.K Rowling hits back at haters

Daniel Radcliffe speaks out against J.K. Rowlings's transphobic allegations

Fans call JK Rowling out for ‘cartoonishly stereotypical’ character names

J.K. Rowling doubles down on transphobic stance

First look at the Harry Potter 20th Anniversary reunion

Outraged fans announce "death" of J.K. Rowling

JK Rowling reveals history of domestic abuse and sexual assault

JK Rowling unveils new book and will donate all royalties

JK Rowling’s kind deed for boy with down syndrome