JK Rowling denies bullying trans football manager she called a ‘bloke’ and ‘crossdresser’

JK Rowling has doubled down after being criticised for her comments mocking a trans football manager, comparing her to “straight, white, middle-aged blokes”.

The Harry Potter author, who has become well-known in recent years for her “gender-critical” beliefs, was slammed on Saturday (11 March) for a post misgendering the world’s first out trans football referee, Lucy Clark.

Replying to a now-deleted post on Twitter/X from LGBTQ+ charity Pride, which praised Clark for becoming “the first trans manager in the top five divisions of English women’s football”, Rowling compared her to a “middle-aged bloke”. 

“When I was young all the football managers were straight, white, middle-aged blokes, so it’s fantastic to see how much things have changed,” the author wrote. 

Social media users were quick to call out Rowling, with many calling her comments “cruel” and questioning why she would use her platform to single-out a trans individual doing their job.

“Let’s be clear here – Lucy Clark is not said to have done *anything* wrong,” blogger Tom Coates wrote. “She simply *got a job*. She simply *exists*.”

JK Rowling then doubled down on her comments, misgendering Clark on numerous occasions in subsequent posts.

“Calling a man a man is not ‘bullying’ or ‘punching down.’ Crossdressing straight men are currently one of the most pandered-to demographics in existence, and women are under no obligation to applaud the people caricaturing us,” she wrote on Twitter/X. 

Former football referee Lucy Clark was appointed as Sutton United’s new manager of their women’s team in January, which she described at the time as an “honour”. 

Responding to JK Rowling’s comments on Saturday, she explained that she’s “living my best life”.

“Wake up everyday with my beautiful family around me. Everyday I laugh and have things to look forward too. Who’s winning at life…the one who’s happy and smiling or those hating?” she wrote on Sunday (12 May).

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