JK Rowling breaks her silence after Harry Potter fan sites distance themselves from author’s ‘harmful and disproven’ anti-trans views
JK Rowling (ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)
JK Rowling has broken her silence after two of the biggest Harry Potter fan sites distanced themselves from her “harmful and disproven” comments about trans people.
The Leaky Cauldron and MuggleNet announced on Thursday (July 20) that they would no longer provide links to Rowling’s website, use photos of her, or write about her outside of her role in creating the world of Harry Potter.
The sites, which have more than one million combined fans, denounced Rowling’s anti-trans views in a joint statement.
The Harry Potter author had remained quiet on their statement, but finally broke her silence this morning (July 4) after MuggleNet founder Emerson Spartz expressed his support for Rowling.
JK Rowling thanked the founder of MuggleNet for defending her.
“After hours of stomach churning and frantic pacing, I decided that, as founder of MuggleNet, I have to say something,” Spartz wrote.
“I can’t believe I have to say this, but JK Rowling is NOT transphobic.”
Rowling retweeted Spartz and wrote: “Thank you, Emerson, for being who I always thought you were,” along with a lightning bolt emoji in reference to the scar on her protagonist’s forehead.
This marks the beginning of a renewed commitment to serving the #HarryPotter community from a more conscious standpoint than we have done in the past. https://t.co/CcKxdo23NT pic.twitter.com/IetMlsXBY4
— MuggleNet: #1 Wizarding World Resource Since 1999 (@MuggleNet) July 1, 2020
The Harry Potter author has found herself embroiled in controversy over the last number of weeks after she shared her views about trans people on Twitter and in a lengthy essay published on her own website.
She has faced significant backlash from the LGBT+ community and from many within the Harry Potter fan community.
Both The Leaky Cauldron and MuggleNet had previously expressed their opposition to Rowling’s views, but firmly aligned themselves with the trans community in their joint statement earlier this week.
The two biggest Harry Potter fan sites condemned Rowling’s views on trans people in a joint statement.
“As this fandom enters its third decade, JK Rowling has chosen this time to loudly pronounce harmful and disproven beliefs about what it means to be a transgender person,” the joint statement said.
“In addition to the distaste we feel for her choice to publish these statements during Pride Month – as well as during a global reckoning on racial injustice – we find the use of her influence and privilege to target marginalised people to be out of step with the message of acceptance and empowerment we find in her books and celebrated by the Harry Potter community.”
“Our stance is firm: Transgender women are women. Transgender men are men. Non-binary people are non-binary. Intersex people exist and should not be forced to live in the binary.
“We stand with Harry Potter fans in these communities, and while we don’t condone the mistreatment JKR has received, we must reject her beliefs.”
