Home » Entertainment

J.K. Rowling Scrambles To Avoid Prison Time, Keep ‘Harry Potter’ Rights

in Harry Potter

Posted on by Jess Colopy 15 Comments
JK Rowling's Closeup on the right (ABC Credit) and 'Harry Potter' Poster on the left

Credit: Inside the Magic

“Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling is scrambling to delete old social media posts after being named in a cyberbullying complaint filed by Algerian boxer Imane Khelif. The Wizarding World creator spent days spreading misinformation about the Olympic gold medalist’s gender even after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) dispelled the rumors.

It was just a few years ago that Rowling claimed she accidentally liked some transphobic posts on the platform now called X (formerly Twitter). Now, the author, sometimes known as “Robert Galbraith,” spends most of her days spewing anti-transgender ideology on social media. In one interview, she compared transgender people to the evil “Death Eaters” in the “Harry Potter” books.

Imane Khelif boxing.
Credit: Imane Khelif via Instagram

Rowling joined the harassment campaign against Khelif earlier this month when Italian boxer Angela Carini withdrew from an early Olympics 2024 matchup with Khelif. After Khelif punched her twice, Carini refused to shake her opponent’s hand and told reporters it “wasn’t right.”

Thousands of anti-trans activists claimed that Khelif, who was born and raised as a woman and doesn’t identify as intersex, was a man. Rowling posted and re-posted dozens of claims that Khelif was a biological male who shouldn’t be allowed to compete in women’s sports:

The idea that those objecting to a male punching a female in the name of sport are objecting because they believe Khelif to be ‘trans’ is a joke. We object because we saw a male punching a female.

Rowling refused to accept the IOC’s verdict that Khelif qualified for the Paris Olympics. She shared claims that the Algerian boxer failed a “gender test” from the controversial International Boxing Association (IBA). The IBA refused to provide details of the test and lost its partnership with the IOC after years of allegations of financial mishandling and influence from the Russian government.

Imane Khelif kisses her gold medal.
Credit: Imane Khelif via Instagram

Related: Taylor Swift Officially Takes Over Pixar, Company Heads in New Direction

Still, Rowling must’ve learned a particular skill at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She insisted that she could tell “the difference” between Khelif and a biological woman:

For the record, bombarding me with pictures of athletic women to ‘teach’ me that women don’t all look like Barbie is like spamming me with pics of differently-shaped potatoes to prove rocks are edible. I can still see the difference and you look frankly bonkers.

After Khelif won an Olympic gold medal, social media users noticed Rowling was suddenly silent. Former fans begged Khelif to sue the author for the rights to the Harry Potter franchise.

Last week, news broke that Imane Khelif filed a cyberbullying complaint with the French authorities, and her lawyer specifically named J.K. Rowling, Elon Musk, and other prominent X users as examples of inappropriate conduct. The criminal complaint was filed with the anti-online hatred center of the Paris Prosecutor’s Office (National Center for the Fight Against Online Hatred).

J.K. Rowling having a creepy smile during a BBC interview
Credit: BBC

Khelif’s complaint targeted X, which in French legal terms means it was filed against “unknown persons.” This gives French authorities the right to investigate thousands of X users who harassed or spread misinformation about the Algerian boxer, from anonymous, faceless trolls to influential users like J.K. Rowling and former United States President Donald Trump.

Anyone found guilty of criminal actions could face consequences that include prison time. Authorities can target overseas X users, especially in countries like the United States that operate versions of the French anti-hate office and have existing international agreements in place.

JK Rowling wears a green dress, edited in front of Hogwarts Castle at night.
Credit: ABC / Warner Bros

Rowling has remained silent since the news broke but recently started deleting posts on her X account. Though most of her posts about Khelif appear untouched, the social media tracker Social Blade noted that Rowling has deleted at least 28 posts since August 11, 2024. Khelif’s attorney filed her legal complaint on August 9.

It didn’t take long for X users to notice content disappearing from Rowling’s profile. This post from @ickycasket was liked and shared thousands of times:

jkr not tweeting for over a week now and also mass deleting her tweets, she’s FUCKED dog, holy shit

Another post from @notcapnamerica garnered similar attention:

JK Rowling is deleting tweets

“Like Khelif’s lawyer hasn’t already got copies,” said @alt_world. “Rowling is in the find out part of the equation, quite the fall, eh?”

J.K. Rowling hasn’t commented publicly on being named in Imane Khelif’s cyberbullying complaint.

Should J.K. Rowling face legal consequences for her posts about Imane Khelif? In the comments, share your thoughts with Inside the Magic. 

View Comments (15)