JK Rowling labels transgender Paralympian Valentina Petrillo a ‘cheat’

JK Rowling has taken to social media to label trans Paralympian Valentina Petrillo a “cheat”.

Visually impaired Italian sprinter Petrillo, the first out trans person to compete at the Paralympics, having transitioned in 2019, failed to qualify for the final of the women’s T12 400m, after finishing third in her semi-final on Monday (2 September).

Speaking to the press after the race, the trans Paralympian said: “I pushed… I tried my best. They are stronger than me, I had to go down too much, to do a 56 [­seconds]. With 57.50, I have to be happy even if I’m a little down.

“I’m a little down but I hope my son will be proud of me. This is important to me because he has a trans dad, not the dad everyone dreams of. But I hope he will be proud.”

Petrillo’s participation in the Paralympic Games has caused controversy with other competitors speaking out against her, and scores of gender-critical accounts launching a torrent of transphobic abuse on social media.

International Paralympic Committee president Andrew Parsons previously told BBC Sport that Petrillo was “welcome” in Paris under current guidelines but wants to see the sporting world “unite” on transgender athletes.

On Monday, Harry Potter author Rowling, well-known for her anti-trans views, wrote on X/Twitter: “Why all the anger about the inspirational Petrillo? The cheat community has never had this kind of visibility. Out and proud cheats like Petrillo prove the era of cheat-shaming is over. What a role model. I say we give [disgraced cyclist] Lance Armstrong his medals back and move on. #Cheats #NoShame.”

In a follow-up post, Rowling was asked how the trans Paralympian was cheating because by “automatically saying that trans people are cheating, you’re associating stereotypes to us that just aren’t true”.

The author replied: “Stereotypes are simplistic/prejudiced blanket assumptions about a demographic that don’t correlate with the facts. I know all trans people aren’t cheats. However, knowing you have an unfair advantage and exploiting it anyway is pretty much the textbook definition of cheating.”

This is not the first time Rowling has passed comment on the topic of gender when comes to participation in elite sport.

During the Olympics in Paris, Algerian boxer Imane Khelif was thrust into the centre of a vitriolic storm about her gender and eligibility to compete in the female category.

Despite the International Olympic Committee confirming that she met all its regulations, and that her inclusion was “not a transgender issue” because she was born female and competes as a woman, Khelif came under scrutiny alongside Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting because they had both previously been – controversially – disqualified from the World Championships after failing to meet eligibility criteria.

However, despite the fact being trans in Algeria is not legally recognised and Khelif does not identify as anything other than cisgender, it did not stop various high-profile gender critical figures, including Rowling, Elon Musk and former college swimmer Riley Gaines, labelling her a “man” and a “cheater”.

Alongside a photograph of Khelif after she beat Italy’s Angela Carini, Rowling wrote: “Could any picture sum up our new men’s rights movement better? The smirk of a male who’s knows he’s protected by a misogynist sporting establishment enjoying the distress of a woman he’s just punched in the head, and whose life’s ambition he’s just shattered.”

Khelif has subsequently filed a lawsuit for “acts of aggravated cyber harassment” she faced, explicitly naming Rowling and X owner Musk in the case.