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People baffled as Elon Musk takes aim at JK Rowling amid controversy

Home> Entertainment> Celebrity

Updated 14:31 5 May 2024 GMT+1Published 14:21 5 May 2024 GMT+1

People baffled as Elon Musk takes aim at JK Rowling amid controversy

You'd really be saving yourself a lot of bother if you just weren't on Twitter

Joe Harker

Joe Harker

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Elon Musk has asked JK Rowling if she'd like to spend her time on the social media platform he bought for billions talking about something else for a change.

As you might have gathered in recent years, the Harry Potter author has become controversial for her views on the rights of the transgender community.

It's consumed rather a lot of her social media output as well, as she recently hit out at the actors who performed in the film adaptations of her movies.

Rowling had been reacting to the findings of a review into the NHS gender identity services by Dr Hilary Cass, saying she was 'b****y angry' about it.

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One of her followers said they were 'waiting for Dan and Emma to give you a very public apology', a reference to the support Harry Potter stars Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson gave to trans people.

JK Rowling talks about trans rights quite a lot on the internet. (Samir Hussein/WireImage)
JK Rowling talks about trans rights quite a lot on the internet. (Samir Hussein/WireImage)

Radcliffe wrote an essay for LGBTQ+ group The Trevor Project where he apologised for the 'pain' Rowling had caused, while Watson told her trans followers that she and 'so many other people around the world see you, respect you and love you for who you are'.

Many other Harry Potter stars have weighed in on the matter and when Rowling's follower told her they were expecting apologies from Radcliffe and Watson 'safe in the knowledge that you will forgive them', the author didn't seem intent on building bridges, writing: "Not safe, I'm afraid.

"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."

Radcliffe was recently asked about what Rowling said, and explained that from his perspective while his life would have been very different without Harry Potter 'that doesn’t mean that you owe the things you truly believe to someone else for your entire life'.

Two of the highest profile people in the world and this is what they're talking about. (X/@jk_rowling/@elonmusk)
Two of the highest profile people in the world and this is what they're talking about. (X/@jk_rowling/@elonmusk)

That's just part of the regular social media activity from Rowling on the topic and her feed is full of other posts containing her views on trans rights.

It has reached a point where X (Twitter) boss Elon Musk has asked her whether she'd be willing to consider posting about a different subject for a while.

Commenting yesterday (4 May) on a month-old post from Rowling, he wrote: "While I heartily agree with your points regarding sex/gender, may I suggest also posting interesting and positive content on other matters?"

Yep, that's the boss of X asking one of the most followed accounts on X to post about something else for a bit.

Rowling did acknowledge Musk's message and shared a post about something else, though insisted it 'should in no way be interpreted as me doing as I'm told'.

Do you ever feel like maybe social media hasn't been a good thing?

What the other Harry Potter stars have said about JK Rowling and her comments on the trans community

Rupert Grint

Rupert Grint said he 'firmly stood' with the trans community. (Cindy Ord/Getty Images)
Rupert Grint said he 'firmly stood' with the trans community. (Cindy Ord/Getty Images)

The Ron actor said in a statement in 2020: "I firmly stand with the trans community and echo the sentiments expressed by many of my peers. Trans women are women. Trans men are men."

In an interview with the Times two years later, he added, "I liken JK Rowling to an auntie. I don't necessarily agree with everything my auntie says, but she's still my auntie. It's a tricky one."

Ralph Fiennes

Ralph Fiennes said the 'verbal abuse' directed at Rowling was 'disgusting'. (Taylor Hill/FilmMagic)
Ralph Fiennes said the 'verbal abuse' directed at Rowling was 'disgusting'. (Taylor Hill/FilmMagic)

The Voldemort actor told The New York Times in 2022: "The verbal abuse directed at her is disgusting, it's appalling.

"I can understand a viewpoint that might be angry at what she says about women. But it's not some obscene, uber-right-wing fascist. It's just a woman saying, 'I'm a woman and I feel I'm a woman and I want to be able to say that I'm a woman.'"

Harry Melling

Harry Melling said 'transgender women are women and transgender men are men'. (Lia Toby/Getty Images for BFI)
Harry Melling said 'transgender women are women and transgender men are men'. (Lia Toby/Getty Images for BFI)

Melling, who played Dudley Dursley, told the Independent in 2022: "I can only speak for myself, and what I feel, to me, is very simple, which is that transgender women are women and transgender men are men."

Evanna Lynch

Evanna Lynch said she hoped people would give 'more grace' to Rowling. (Jun Sato/WireImage)
Evanna Lynch said she hoped people would give 'more grace' to Rowling. (Jun Sato/WireImage)

Lynch played Luna Lovegood in the films and told the Telegraph: "I just felt that her character has always been to advocate for the most vulnerable members of society. The problem is that there's a disagreement over who's the most vulnerable.

"I do wish people would just give her more grace and listen to her."

Featured Image Credit: Steve Granitz/FilmMagic/Samir Hussein/WireImage

Topics: JK Rowling, Elon Musk, Twitter, Social Media, LGBTQ

Joe Harker
Joe Harker

Joe graduated from the University of Salford with a degree in Journalism and worked for Reach before joining the LADbible Group. When not writing he enjoys the nerdier things in life like painting wargaming miniatures and chatting with other nerds on the internet. He's also spent a few years coaching fencing. Contact him via [email protected]

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@MrJoeHarker

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