Harry Potter author JK Rowling has again hit out at former colleagues and ‘certain female celebrities’.
The creator of the Wizarding World has faced backlash from both fans and cast members from the popular franchise after sharing her controversial views on the trans community back in 2020. And she hasn’t exactly stopped since, now sharing her 'regret'.
Back in April, the 58-year-old made it clear that if the likes of Daniel Radcliffe or Emma Watson went (for some surprising reason) begging for her forgiveness for their support of trans rights, then they should ‘save their apologies’.
Fans were quick to jump to the defence of the Harry Potter stars with Radcliffe explaining that the entire thing ‘makes him really sad’, adding that he hasn’t spoken to Rowling in several years.
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Rowling explained her belief ‘in protecting women’s sex-based rights’ in an essay which features in The Women Who Wouldn’t Wheesht – a forthcoming book on Scotland’s battle for women’s rights.
“I believe we’re witnessing the greatest assault of my lifetime on the rights our foremothers thought they’d guaranteed for all women," she said.
“Ultimately, I spoke up because I’d have felt ashamed for the rest of my days if I hadn’t. If I feel any regret at all, it’s that I didn’t speak far sooner.
“People who’d worked with me rushed to distance themselves from me or to add their public condemnation of my blasphemous views (though I should add that many former and current colleagues have been staunchly supportive),” she wrote.
As many actors from the films and the likes of Eddie Redmayne, who stars in the author’s Fantastic Beasts films, have been very vocal about their support for trans rights, she has now taken a fresh swipe at people she has ‘worked with’.
The author then went on to claim some of her co-workers had chased up with her to check that they were still on good terms.
She explained: “In truth, the condemnation of certain individuals was far less surprising to me than the fact that some of them then emailed me, or sent messages through third parties, to check that we were still friends.”
Rowling then added: "The thing is, those appalled by my position often fail to grasp how truly despicable I find theirs.”
Speaking to The Times with an extract of her essay, she also spoke about ‘certain female celebrities’ which some speculate could be about Watson and her vocal support for transgender people.
“I’ve listened as certain female celebrities insist that there isn’t the slightest risk to women and girls in allowing any man who self-identifies as a woman to enter single-sex spaces reserved for women, including changing rooms, bathrooms or rape shelters,” she said.
Topics: Harry Potter, LGBTQ, JK Rowling
Jess Battison