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Credit: Edited by Inside the MagicAnother day, another online drama involving JK Rowling. This time, the Harry Potter author has issued an open challenge to the authorities over Scotland’s new hate crime law.
In a series of posts on X (formerly known as Twitter), Rowling listed several known figures (a mixture of convicted criminals, activists, and celebrities) who are transgender and referred to them as women. At the end of her thread, Rowling wrote, “April Fools! Only kidding. Obviously, the people mentioned in the above tweets aren’t women at all, but men, every last one of them.”
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Rowling went on to address new hate crime laws in Scotland, claiming that “Scottish lawmakers seem to have placed higher value on the feelings of men performing their idea of femaleness, however misogynistically or opportunistically, than on the rights and freedoms of actual women and girls.”
The law in question is the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021, which has officially criminalized “stirring up hatred” relating to age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, and transgender identity. Violating this law may come with a jail sentence of up to seven years. While it doesn’t cover hatred against women, this is expected to be covered in a separate, specialized misogyny law.
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Rowling has infamously criticized the transgender community on multiple occasions over the years, with some theorizing that several of her online transphobic tirades potentially violate the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021.
Seemingly in response to this, Rowling went on to invite Scottish police to arrest her. “I’m currently out of the country, but if what I’ve written here qualifies as an offence under the terms of the new act, I look forward to being arrested when I return to the birthplace of the Scottish Enlightenment,” she said.
According to the BBC, Police Scotland later confirmed that it hadn’t received any complaints about Rowling’s posts. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak subsequently backed Rowling and issued a statement to The Daily Telegraph in which he argued that nobody should be criminalized for stating “simple facts on biology” and that his party (the Conservatives) would “always protect” British citizens’ rights to freedom of speech.
Rowling’s opinions on gender identity have divided the Harry Potter fandom in recent years. Some fans have vowed to boycott the franchise, particularly recent projects such as “Hogwarts Legacy” (which went on to become the highest-grossing game of 2023) and the upcoming Max remake of the series.
Several actors involved in the franchise have distanced themselves from Rowling by pledging their support to the trans community. This includes its three main stars – Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter), Emma Watson (Hermione Granger), and Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley). “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,” Watson wrote on X (then Twitter) just hours after Rowling shared an essay explaining her thoughts on gender identity in 2020.
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However, several actors have also sided with and defended Rowling from hate, including Ralph Fiennes (Lord Voldemort), Robbie Coltrane (Rubeus Hagrid), and Helena Bonham Carter (Bellatrix Lestrange). Some, like Jason Isaacs (Lucius Malfoy), refused to “stab her in the back,” with Isaacs clarifying in 2022 that “she has her opinions, I have mine. They differ in many areas.”
What are your thoughts on JK Rowling’s recent posts on X? Let us know in the comments!