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Back in June, Harry Potter J.K. was involved in a of controversies with the LGBTQ+ community for Tweets that were considered to be transphobic.
Rowling’s tweets prompted Harry Potter stars like Emma Watson (Hermione Granger), Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter) and Katie Leung (Cho Chang) to speak up against her positioning.
If sex isn’t real, there’s no same-sex attraction. If sex isn’t real, the lived reality of women globally is erased. I know and love trans people, but erasing the concept of sex removes the ability of many to meaningfully discuss their lives. It isn’t hate to speak the truth.
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) June 6, 2020
However, this was not the first time J.K. was accused of supporting transphobic rhetoric on Twitter. In December of last year, the Harry Potter received as she spoke out in support of Centre for Global Development researcher Maya Forstater who had bee fired due to her opinion that a cannot change their biological sex.
And in May of this year, J.K. sparked more turmoil on Twitter after she liked she gave to a “anti-trans activist” on the platform.
This one got a Like from @jk_rowling today. After my thousand or so re-Likes of her tweet, seems fair. pic.twitter.com/OiZ1ww6YlZ
— Fred Sargeant (@FredSargeant) May 15, 2020
Now, the backlash of ‘s comments are being seen outside social media. The Harry Potter sales has dropped in the United States. According to NPD BookScan figures, in June, sales in in overall rose 31.4% compared to May. The growth was also noticed with in the adult, and juvenile sectors. While sales are increasing, ‘s books saw a rise of only 10.9% in June.
Trans people are who they say they are and deserve to live their lives without being constantly questioned or told they aren’t who they say they are.
— Emma Watson (@EmmaWatson) June 10, 2020
This also affected other Harry Potter not authored by . Those saw a increase of only 7.7%.
Yet, the NPD BookScan numbers do not account for eBooks, audiobook sales or sales to libraries and .
This is a considerable drop on the authors . In June 2019, J.K. were higher than the rest of the industry: 35.2% rise on ‘s books compared to 33.3% rise in overall.
On an interview granted to Variety, analyst and executive director of business development at the NPD Group Kristen McLean supports the data.
“Looking at [‘s] performance against the rest of the market, especially as benchmarked against her performance in 2019 – which was very consistent with the rest of the market – I think she’s down. She’s certainly underperforming the rest of the market, comparatively, by two thirds,” said McLean.
The June sales numbers for J.K. aren’t consistent with the numbers for the rest of the year. Her number for the first half of 2020 were up 26.5% compared to the first half of 2019. But the rise in in the first half of the year can be due to the general upswing in the sector.
It is safe to assume that the Harry Potter ‘s sudden drop in sales is somehow linked to the Twitter scandals with the LGBTQ+ community.
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— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) December 19, 2019
sites like The Leaky Cauldron and MuggleNet have spoken out about the scandals; still holding their love for the saga, but showing hurt and disapproval towards the ‘s personal views.
“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,” states the post published on The Leaky Cauldron’s site.
“Immediately after ‘s tweet was posted, it became clear that Harry Potter fans are doing their absolute best to keep the books sacred. If there is beauty to be found in this dumpster fire of a situation for so many fans, it’s that the fandom was loud in their support for trans Harry Potter fans who are grieving after J.K. ‘s comment,” states the post published on MuggleNet.
It is a hard time for many Harry ; for many, it is hard to realize that a generational beloved role model figure has, in such a short time, broke several hearts.
However, it is important to keep in mind that many feel it is still okay to love, enjoy and read . Just because you love the and the , is does not necessarily mean that you support or agree with the author’s personal positions.
How do you feel about the entire J.K. Twitter scandal? Let us know in the comments bellow.