JK Rowling at the HBO's "Finding the Way Home" Premiere

J.K. Rowling Fans Are Angry: 'Why Is This How You Want To Be Remembered?'

Home / Internet & social media / J.K. Rowling Fans Are Angry: 'Why Is This How You Want To Be Remembered?'

By Kristin Myers on December 13, 2021 at 9:01 AM EST

“Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling is in hot water with fans yet again.

This time, she retweeted a news story titled “‘Absurdity’ Of Police Logging Rapists As Women.” Police in Scotland recently revealed that they will start recording rapes based on the attacker’s gender identity and not their sex at birth.

Rowling retweeted the article with the caption “War is Peace. Freedom is Slavery. Ignorance is Strength. The P-----ed Individual Who Raped You Is A Woman.”

This is not the first time that Rowling has released statements on Twitter that were deemed transphobic, and fans were not having it.

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Rowling’s New Comments Spark Backlash From Fans

Fans showered Rowling’s tweet with messages ranging from anger to disappointment.

“You literally have a castle and you spend your time doing this,” one user commented.

“Why is this how you want to be remembered?” another asked. “Why is this the hill you've chosen? What do you stand to gain from this? You have nothing to lose, but we stand to lose everything.”

“As a trans person who used to love the harry potter series, this is so disheartening, and I should expect it from you by now, but for some reason, I always hope that there’s enough evidence that most trans people aren’t a threat for you to change, but it never happens,” another wrote.

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“I know it shouldn’t by now, but it never ceases to disappoint me to see what you’ve become,” one user tweeted. “You’ll argue you’re just speaking common sense or defending women, but what you’re actually doing is using those ideas as excuses to hate on and attack a marginalized community. It’s sad.”

“And I’m not just talking this time, this tweet, but many times for a long while,” they continued. “You had an incredible opportunity to do good with the privilege and success you have. You could have chosen differently. But this is what you’ve chosen, and you’ve broken a lot of hearts.”

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Rowling Is Not Backing Down From Her Comments

Although Rowling has had a long history of posting controversial comments about the trans community, Rowling was doxxed in November by transgender activist-actors who posted Rowling’s home address on social media during a protest in front of her Scotland home.

One of the activists tweeted, “Yesterday we posted a picture we took at J.K. Rowling’s house. While we stand by the photo, since posting it we have received an overwhelming amount of serious and threatening transphobic messages so we have decided to take the photo down. Love to our trans siblings.”

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Rowling released a series of tweets before she decided to call her attackers out by name, writing, “I have to assume that @IAmGeorgiaFrost, @hollywstars, and @Richard_Energy_thought doxxing me would intimidate me out of speaking up for women’s sex-based rights.”

She continued, “They should have reflected on the fact that I’ve now received so many death threats I could paper the house with them, and I haven’t stopped speaking out. Perhaps – and I’m just throwing this out there – the best way to prove your movement isn’t a threat to women is to stop stalking, harassing and threatening us.”

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It doesn’t seem that Rowling is going to back down from her stance any time soon, but her recent controversial stance means that she will not take part in the “Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts” special which airs on HBO Max on January 1, 2022.

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