J.K. Rowling Is Upsetting Fans Again, Here’s Why
J.K. Rowling might be the most famous author in the world. Her Harry Potter franchise is a staple of modern pop culture and a favorite childhood experience for most millennials.
As such, her fan base is obviously her life force, and the source of her income too. So, upsetting fans for any reason can be a costly mistake. In a world where millennials are embracing love, acceptance, and equality it can be a dangerous path for celebrities to cross them.
Rowling’s fans have recently become aware of some of her anti-LGBTQ behavior and they are not happy.
J.K. Rowling began her career as a hero to the regular guy
It’s said that Rowling wrote the first parts to her multimillion-dollar Harry Potter enterprise on a napkin. She flew into the spotlight on a broomstick flown by a little wizard named Harry Potter and left her humble life behind.
Thus becoming the hero for every hopeful writer, every single parent, everyone who has a dream. It was a real rags to riches story and she became an inspiration overnight.
J.K. Rowling has long been an activist for the underserved
From championing children to battling racism, Rowling has used her fame to take an activist’s stand against injustice. In fact, she took a lot of flack for casting a black actress as Hermione Granger in her play “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child”.
Rowling has even been a strong supporter of the LGBTQ community, especially so when she announced that the Hogwarts School headmaster, Dumbledore, was gay.
Sources recall an uncomfortable encounter with fan Ana Kocovic who asked the author, “I wonder why you said that Dumbledore is gay because I can’t see him in that way.”
“Maybe because gay people just look like … people?” Rowling wrote back.
However, J.K. Rowling might actually be a transphobe
J.K. Rowling is upsetting her fans with her transphobic online behavior. She’s been caught multiple times following and liking blatant transphobic sentiments on Twitter and other social media sites.
It has left fans wondering “How does a woman who represents so much positivity and fearlessly wields her wand and words against misogyny, homophobia, racism, and all that makes this society sick, find herself in agreement with such a callous sentiment?”
While fans were shocked by Rowling’s support of a campaign which calls for transgender women to be banned from participation on the Labour Party’s women-only shortlists for Parliament, it appears it is not the first time she has supported such sentiments.
Her public relations team deemed it an unfortunate accident
After the author liked the tweet which referred to trans women as “men in dresses” there was immediate backlash from fans.
When her reps were approached for comment, a spokesperson for Rowling reportedly released information to PinkNews that she had not intentionally liked the message. It was simply an unfortunate result of “middle-aged” clumsiness.
The spokesperson told PinkNews: “I’m afraid J.K. Rowling had a clumsy and middle-aged moment and this is not the first time she has favorited by holding her phone incorrectly.”
Fans weren’t buying it. You can’t accidentally “like” a post from someone if you aren’t already following people with those ideas. Why is the author even following anti-trans bullies?
It is not the first time Rowling has made such a mistake and she has yet to make any statement in regards to the incident herself.
Will fans forgive her?
It’s hard to say whether fans will forgive and forget J.K. Rowling for her transphobic support. It appears the author follows several accounts on Twitter with transphobic agendas. These accounts believe the narrative that all transgender women are simply men who wear women’s clothing.
The skewed viewpoint has been a sentiment that Rowling has “liked” several times on social media. Now, if it’s an accident or simply ignorance we cannot be sure, but fans are having a hard time hiding their disappointment.
