Topics: Harry Potter, JK Rowling, Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Social Media
Warning: This article contains discussion of LGBTQ+ issues which some readers may find distressing.
JK Rowling made headlines yesterday (11 April) after tweeting that she wouldn't forgive Harry Potter stars Emma Watson and Daniel Radcliffe if they came to her with an apology - and told them not to bother.
The Harry Potter author is now perhaps better-known for tweeting her opinions rather than her books.
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She regularly takes aim at the transgender community on X, leading to her being shunned by many who were originally fans of her books.
A series of tweets in 2020 illustrated her belief that using terms such as 'people who menstruate' is wrong.
"’People who menstruate’. I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?” she wrote at the time.
On April 1, she deliberately misgendered transgender activist India Willoughby.
Rowling's actions led to Harry Potter stars Emma Watson and Daniel Radcliffe releasing statements of support for the trans community.
Watson tweeted in 2020: "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."
Also in 2020, Radcliffe wrote: "Transgender women are women," before continuing: "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.”
On 10 April, Rowling tweeted claims the Hilary Cass review on gender services in the UK shows that 'kids have been irreversibly harmed.'
She added: "Thousands are complicit, not just medics, but the celebrity mouthpieces, unquestioning media and cynical corporations."
Many people criticised Rowling's latest attack on social media, but one defender wrote: "Just waiting for Dan and Emma to give you a very public apology ... safe in the knowledge that you will forgive them ..."
Rowling then took the chance to respond and explain why an apology from Watson and Radcliffe wouldn't be welcome.
She wrote: “Celebs who cosied up to a movement intent on eroding women's hard-won rights and who used their platforms to cheer on the transitioning of minors can save their apologies for traumatised detransitioners and vulnerable women reliant on single sex spaces.”
To be fair, it doesn't seem like Watson or Radcliffe are planning on apologising for sticking up for trans people any time soon.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact the LGBT Foundation on 0345 3 30 30 30, 10am–6pm Monday to Friday, or email [email protected]
