JK Rowling apologises for accusing Donald Trump of ignoring disabled boy after Piers Morgan criticises her
JK Rowling has apologised for saying that Donald Trump deliberately ignored a disabled boy during a White House reception after Piers Morgan repeatedly called her out on Twitter.
The billionaire author had accused the US President of snubbing the wheelchair-bound child as he reached for Trump three times.
She wrote: “How stunning, and how horrible, that Trump cannot bring himself to shake the hand of a small boy who only wanted to touch the president.”
FOR ALL OF YOU WHO THINK TRUMP IGNORED A DISABLED BOY, WATCH pic.twitter.com/GDLRt3EFSR
— Paige LaFleur (@paigelafleur) July 28, 2017
But Rowling had only seen part of the video taken on the day. The full tape showed Trump bending down to engage in a conversation with the child.
The writer, who celebrated her birthday yesterday on the same date as her fictional creation Harry Potter, was taken to task for the mistake by chat show host and Trump fan Piers Morgan.
Eventually she relented, telling her followers that “multiple sources have informed me that that was not a full or accurate representation of their interaction.
“I very clearly projected my own sensitivities around the issue of disabled people being overlooked or ignored onto the images I saw and if that caused any distress to that boy or his family, I apologise unreservedly.
“These tweets will remain, but I will delete the previous ones on the subject.”
She still had support from fans, one of whom told her: “You did something Trump has NEVER done in his life: You publicly admitted you were wrong.
“And apologised. Because that’s who you are.”
(Getty)
Henry Fraser, a public speaker who is paralysed from the neck down, also backed the author, tweeting at Piers Morgan to tell him: “JK Rowling is an incredibly kind and generous person.
“Why keep attacking her and siding with Trump who causes so much harm?”
He responded: “Hi Henry, my personal experience of Ms Rowling has been abusive & unpleasant.
“With Mr Trump, the opposite. I take people as I find them.”
Last week, the US President tweeted that he was banning transgender people from the military, including the more than 15,000 trans people currently serving.
Rowling pointedly avoided apologising to Trump, who she has ripped into on multiple occasions, including after he announced the transgender ban.
The author took him down with style last month, responding to his infamous CNN wrestling tweet with a quote from George Washington.
And in June, she slammed the President after Trump abused London Mayor Sadiq Khan following a terror attack on the capital.
