The 'Harry Potter' books author has taken to Twitter to show support for Maya Forstater, a researcher in England who was fired for sending transphobic tweets.
- Dec 20, 2019
AceShowbiz - J.K. Rowling has landed in hot water after sending tweets that many deem transphobic. The author of popular novel "Harry Potter" took to Twitter on Thursday, December 19 to show support for Maya Forstater, a researcher in England who was fired for sending transphobic tweets.
"Dress however you please. Call yourself whatever you like. Sleep with any consenting adult who'll have you. Live your best life in peace and security. But force women out of their jobs for stating that sex is real?#IStandWithMaya #ThisIsNotADrill," so Rowling tweeted to 14.6M online followers.
Quickly, people labeled the author of being transphobic. Someone replied to her tweet with a meme featuring a message that read, "Our expectations for you were low but HOLY F**K." Another one wrote, "The lion, the witch and the audicity of this b***h."
Expressing huge disappointment, a fan wrote, "I grew up as a trans child reading your books as an escape. I would often pick out names from characters to give to myself, before I ever felt comfortable in who I was. This decision, to support people that hate me, and want to do me harm. It brings me to tears... Why. Why?"
The person added in another tweet, "When I was little, my dream was to one day ask you how people like me would have been accomodated for in hogwarts.. I'm afraid that my dreams might have been crushed if I ever got that chance."
Meanwhile, one user trolled Rowling by putting the word "transphobe" into the titles of Rowling's "Harry Potter" books. "Harry potter and the transphobe's stone," the person joked. "Harry Potter and the chamber of transphobes," he also tweeted, adding a series of similar tweets including "Harry potter and the transphobe prince" and "Harry potter and the deathly transphobes."
Additionally, trans activist Charlotte Clymer replied to Rowling's tweet, "In fact, the World Health Organization--among countless other medical authorities--validate trans people in their authentic gender identity. It is quite clear you don't understand the first thing about the trans community or the science at play. This is heartbreaking."
On December 18, a judge ruled that Forstater, a visiting fellow at the Centre for Global Development, an international organization that campaigns against poverty and inequality, should be terminated from her position for using "offensive and exclusionary" in past tweets. She previously tweeted that "men cannot change into women," among other transphobic remarks.
Following the ruling, Forstater released a statement that read, "My belief … is that sex is a biological fact, and is immutable. There are two sexes, male and female. Men and boys are male. Women and girls are female. It is impossible to change sex. These were until very recently understood as basic facts of life by almost everyone."
