JK Rowling Deletes Tweet Praising Stephen King After He Says ‘Trans Women Are Women’. The writer of the Harry Potter franchise, 54, has found herself at the centre of a row around transgender rights following tweets about an article on menstruation.
After facing criticism online, Rowling penned a lengthy blog post in which she spoke about being a survivor of domestic abuse.
This weekend then saw Labour frontbencher Lloyd Russell-Moyle wade into the discussion, accusing Rowling of using her own story as a “justification” for her comments on transgender people. He later apologised, writing: “Whilst I may disagree with some of her analysis on trans rights, it was wrong of me to suggest that she used her own dreadful experience in anything other than good faith.”
In response, Rowling quoted feminist writer Andrea Dworkin:
When so-called leftists like @lloyd_rm demand that we give up our hard won sex-based rights, they align themselves squarely with men’s rights activists. To both groups, female trauma is white noise, an irrelevance, or else exaggerated or invented. https://t.co/4Axo36pGWt 7/9 pic.twitter.com/vhvQRVRGHu
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) June 28, 2020
“Men often react to women’s words—speaking and writing—as if they were acts of violence; sometimes men react to women’s words with violence,” she wrote. “It isn’t hateful for women speak about their own experiences, nor do they deserve shaming for doing so.”
The tweet caught the attention of renowned horror writer Stephen King, who retweeted the post to his 5.9 million followers.
Rowling then said her love for the Misery writer had “reached new heights,” adding: “It’s so much easier for men to ignore women’s concerns, or to belittle them, but I won’t ever forget the men who stood up when they didn’t need to. Thank you, Stephen.”
However, she then appeared to retract the praise by deleting her tweet after King was asked where he stood on transgender issues, to which he said: “Trans women are women.”
Rowling’s previous comments have resulted in widespread backlash. Harry Potter actors, including Emma Watson and Daniel Radcliffe, and Fantastic Beasts frontman Eddie Redmayne, voiced their disagreement with Rowling’s views.
Four writers who share Rowling’s agency, The Blair Partnership, have since quit in protest at her previous comments.
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