Stephen King Under Fire For Supporting J.K. Rowling

Horror master Stephen King is under fire for supporting J.K. Rowling and her latest book release.

The "Harry Potter" author has come under criticism in recent years for her views on gender, which former fans have labeled transphobic.

On Twitter, J.K. Rowling decided to promote her new book under her pseudonym, Robert Galbraith, which many fans feel is harmful in itself.

In 2020, J.K. Rowling released another book in her Cormoran Strike detective novel series called “Troubled Blood.” The allegedly transphobic book focuses on a male serial killer who disguises himself in women’s clothes.

Rowling has been releasing the series under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith, but it denied any knowledge of the anti-LGBTQ+ gay conversion therapist named Robert Galbraith Heath.

At the time, her spokesperson told Newsweek, “J.K. Rowling wasn't aware of Robert Galbraith Heath when choosing the pseudonym for her crime novels. Any assertion that there is a connection is unfounded and untrue.”

Instead, she said she based the name off of one of her heroes: Robert F. Kennedy.

“I chose Robert because it is one of my favorite men's names, because Robert F. Kennedy is my hero and because, mercifully, I hadn't used it for any of the characters in the Potter series or The Casual Vacancy,” Rowling explained.

“Galbraith came about for a slightly odd reason,” she continued. “When I was a child, I really wanted to be called 'Ella Galbraith', and I've no idea why. I don't even know how I knew that the surname existed because I can't remember ever meeting anyone with it.”

“Be that as it may, the name had a fascination for me,” she added. “I actually considered calling myself L A Galbraith for the Strike series, but for fairly obvious reasons decided that initials were a bad idea.”

"The Stand" author Stephen King often uses his Twitter account to promote upcoming releases, and, on Thursday, he took a moment to support hers.

He retweeted the release of her new novel, adding, "I'm so up for this!"

However, fans were shocked that the "Carrie" author, who is also pretty outspoken for his liberal views on Twitter, would support J.K. Rowling.

"I thought you were supporting trans rights, no?" one fan asked.

"Jk is the person you would write as the antagonist in one of your books. Would you IRL support Pennywise or cujo?" another follower asked.

"Noooo Stephen, you were supposed to be one of the good ones," another commented.

"Please tell me this is sarcasm. 😭 Your books saved me during my teen years," another wrote.

"Seriously though?" another asked. "I'm disappointed that you would promote this. I expected more, somehow."

Another user commented, "Joining the chorus. Really? When our rights are being attacked across the country and the Supreme Court has already said that it wants to overturn things like gay marriage..."

Although the "Pet Sematary" author did not directly address the controversy, he did return to Twitter later that night to take another swing at Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas in the wake of several controversial SCOTUS decisions that have been made over the past week.