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Credit: Inside the MagicJK Rowling is threatening legal action (again), and this time it’s against ex-fans of her own series.
The Harry Potter author recently took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to criticize Wizarding News, a former fan site for the franchise known as HPANA (the Harry Potter News Aggregator) that is now dedicated to “reporting on the demise of JK Rowling’s legacy” in regards to the writer’s stance on gender identity.
On March 20, the account (which has since gone private) claimed that Rowling has an estranged daughter and grandchild. “Reminder that JK Rowling’s eldest daughter (the one with whom she was famously pregnant while writing Harry Potter) changed her last name to literally get away from Rowling, and moved to Portugal,” they said.
Entertainment Weekly reports that they later shared another post, in which they wrote: “Did you know? JK Rowling is a grandmother. Have any of you ever seen her talk about grandchildren?”
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Rowling was quick to dispute these claims. “This is untrue in all respects, as I suspect they already know,” she wrote on X. “Lying about my kids is a new low, even by this website’s subterranean standards. Your vendetta against me is causing collateral damage to innocent people.”
She later added: “If legal action is the only way to protect them, I will take it.”
In a more detailed response, Rowling dissected and denied all of Wizarding News’ claims. ”
In a follow-up post, Rowling explained why Wizarding News’ claims were false. “I’ve done everything I can to keep my children out of the public eye,” she wrote. “My eldest daughter doesn’t owe you or anyone else details of her private life. However, for the avoidance of doubt: 1. Contrary to your claims, we are very close and last talked an hour ago. We discussed your posts, which have angered and distressed her. 2. Contrary to your claims, she doesn’t live in Portugal. 3. Contrary to your claims, she has no children. 4. The young mother whose photograph and personal details you published is not my daughter and has no relation to me whatsoever.”
.@wizardingnews I've done everything I can to keep my children out of the public eye. My eldest daughter doesn't owe you or anyone else details of her private life. However, for the avoidance of doubt:
1. Contrary to your claims, we are very close and last talked an hour ago. We…
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) March 20, 2024
“You’ve published easily disproven and damaging falsehoods,” Rowling added. “Should we go to legal proceedings, you will need to show why, in spite of being told the truth, you neither retracted nor apologised. In the absence of any such retraction and apology, the next communication you receive will be from my lawyer.”
In response, Wizarding News (which addressed Rowling as “Jo”) claimed that it had deleted the photos and link “hours ago.” It also went on to add: “Glad you seem to be self-aware enough that you’re now publicly acknowledging the hate your bigoted rhetoric engenders.”
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While it didn’t apologize to Rowling directly, it did issue an apology to the author’s eldest daughter. “We are unreservedly sorry… to JK Rowling’s eldest daughter… for understandably mixing her up with a VERY coincidentally named person found in multiple published online articles & biographies identifying her as such, and extrapolating & sharing inaccurate details therefrom,” they wrote. “Guess you could say we were following JKR’s example: ‘researching’ something & then immediately regurgitating it, [in our case unintentionally] spreading what some consider to be harmful falsehoods about others… which is what Rowling does to LGBTQ+ people daily.”
Rowling has made headlines on multiple occasions over the past few years for her stance on trans rights, which has involved her comparing the community to Death Eaters and claiming she would gladly go to jail for her beliefs. Several stars of the Harry Potter franchise – including Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint – have come forward to voice their support for the transgender community in the wake of Rowling’s controversy.
Most recently, the author was reported to police by transgender British broadcaster India Willoughby, who accused Rowling of a “hate crime” after she purposely misgendered her on social media.
What do you think about Rowling’s latest online spat? Let us know in the comments!