Emma Watson as Hermione in 'Harry Potter'

J.K. Rowling Drags ‘Harry Potter’ Stars Who Support Trans Rights Into Latest Online Tirade

It’s time for our weekly check-in with J.K. Rowling, the world’s most famous anti-trans enthusiast, to see what sort of hateful garbage she’s pushing out of the ol’ trash compactor where her brain should be.

Recommended Videos

To catch you up to speed: Rowling’s tweets are now almost exclusively comprised of anti-trans rhetoric and quote-tweeting her critics. She’s currently on day three of a potentially record-breaking run, which now includes her thoughts on the results of a review of gender affirming care for children, commissioned by Britain’s National Health Service. I don’t have time to get into the weeds of this report, but several critics have pointed out significant flaws in the review, which omits longterm studies on the effects of gender-affirming care.

When someone in her replies mentioned Harry Potter stars Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson and their support of trans rights, Rowling’s response was predictably delulu:

A screenshot of J.K. Rowling's response to a social media user on April 11, 2024
(Screenshot / Twitter)

“Just waiting for Dan and Emma to give you a very public apology,” the user wrote. “… safe in the knowledge that you will forgive them.” But the Dark Lord Rowling wasn’t feeling particularly benevolent on this day, I suppose. “Not safe, I’m afraid,” Rowling responded. “Celebs who cosied up to a movement intent on eroiding women’s hard-won rights [ed. note: citation needed] and who used their platforms to cheer on the transitioning of minors can save their apologies for traumatised detransitioners and vulnerable women reliant on single sex spaces.” I don’t have the energetic capacity to break down every deranged implication here, but it is truly unhinged to suggest that trans women are lurking in public restrooms, waiting to attack “vulnerable women.” Who are these “vulnerable women,” in Rowling’s estimation? Sexual assault survivors, I assume? We don’t all wear buttons to identify ourselves. In fact, most people who have experienced sexual assault or abuse aren’t exactly eager to share that information unprompted to a room full of strangers, let alone one that also contains multiple toilets. Is the implication that all women are vulnerable when sharing a restroom with someone who wasn’t born with the same genital parts? I hate to break it to Joanne here, but she’s undoubtedly shared many a public loo with a trans woman. By god, she’s lucky she made it out of there alive! She could’ve been transed!

Radcliffe and Watson have both been outspoken in their support of trans rights, and they’ve done so without being assholes about it to anyone—unlike Rowling, whose behavior has become so compulsive and pathological as to require a formal clinical diagnosis. To wit: the above interaction suggests that Rowling believes she’s owed an apology from Radcliffe, Watson, et al. for their support of trans rights. Sure, Joanne! Let’s get you to bed!

(featured image: Warner Bros.)


The Mary Sue is supported by our audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a small affiliate commission. Learn more about our Affiliate Policy
Author
Image of Britt Hayes
Britt Hayes
Britt Hayes (she/her) is an editor, writer, and recovering film critic with over a decade of experience. She has written for The A.V. Club, Birth.Movies.Death, and The Austin Chronicle, and is the former associate editor for ScreenCrush. Britt's work has also been published in Fangoria, TV Guide, and SXSWorld Magazine. She loves film, horror, exhaustively analyzing a theme, and casually dissociating. Her brain is a cursed tomb of pop culture knowledge.