JK Rowling ‘knew’ she’d upset Harry Potter fans with views on sex and gender
"Time will tell whether I’ve got this wrong."
JK Rowling said she “absolutely knew” her comments on sex and gender would make Harry Potter fans “deeply unhappy.”
The 57-year-old author appeared on The Witch Trials Of JK Rowling podcast on Tuesday (14 March). She has stoked controversy in recent years for her views on sex and gender.
Rowling spoke about the reaction to her 2019 tweet where she expressed support for British researcher Maya Forstater, who had lost her own job after expressing her views on sex and gender.
At the time, Rowling tweeted: “Dress however you please. Call yourself whatever you like. Sleep with any consenting adult who’ll have you. Live your best life in peace and security.
“But force women out of their jobs for stating that sex is real? #IStandWithMaya #ThisIsNotADrill.”
“I knew it was going to cause a massive storm,” Rowling said on the podcast, referencing her tweet.
“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.
“A ton of Potter fans were still with me,” she continued. “And, in fact, a ton of Potter fans were grateful for what I said.”
“Time will tell whether I’ve got this wrong.”
She added that there have been times she’s been scared for her own and her family’s safety amid the backlash.
“Time will tell whether I’ve got this wrong. I can only say that I’ve thought about it deeply and hard and long and I’ve listened, I promise, to the other side.”
Rowling noted she had no regrets: “I stand by every word that I wrote there, but the question is, ‘What is the truth?’ And I’m arguing against people who are literally saying sex is a construct.”
In 2020, Rowling wrote an essay citing concerns about single-sex spaces such as bathrooms and changing rooms. She said she had “deep concerns about the effect [of] the trans rights movement.”
She also mocked the phrase ‘people who menstruate’. Rowling has denied she is transphobic.
Her comments led several of Harry Potter‘s stars, including Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint to issue statements in support of trans people and distance themselves from the author.