JK Rowling ‘knew’ her controversial comments on transgender issues would make Potter fans ‘deeply unhappy’
15.03.2023 - 16:25
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
JK Rowling says she “absolutely knew” her comments and views on transgender issues would make Harry Potter fans “deeply unhappy”. The author said despite an enormous backlash to a tweet made in 2019, there were “a tonne of Potter fans that were grateful that I said what I said”.
Rowling has previously been criticised for her staunch views on gender identity, explaining she was partly motivated to speak out because of her experience of domestic abuse and sexual assault, but has strongly denied accusations of transphobia. Speaking on the latest episode of the podcast The Witch Trials of JK Rowling, she addressed a tweet she had made in 2019, in which she expressed support for tax expert Maya Forstater, and the resulting fallout.
Forstater lost her job over her own tweets made about transgender people, and later took the case to an employment tribunal on the grounds that her dismissal constituted discrimination against her beliefs. At the time, Rowling tweeted: “Dress however you please. Call yourself whatever you like. Sleep with any consenting adult who’ll have you.
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“Live your best life in peace and security. But force women out of their jobs for stating that sex is real? #IStandWithMaya #ThisIsNotADrill.”
Speaking on the podcast, Rowling admitted it would have been “easier” to not wade in on the debate.
“When I first became interested and then deeply troubled by what I saw as a cultural movement that was liberal in its methods and was very questionable in its ideas, I absolutely knew that if I spoke out, many folks would be deeply unhappy with me,” she said.
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