Caitlyn Jenner reacts to possible JK Rowling arrest

Caitlyn Jenner has reacted to speculation that Harry Potter writer J.K. Rowling could be arrested under a new hate-crime law.

The English author, who has lived in Edinburgh, Scotland, since the 1990s, has been criticized in recent years for her remarks about transgender people.

On April 1, Siobhian Brown, Scotland’s Minister for Victims and Community Safety, suggested Rowling could be investigated under the Hate Crime and Public Order Act over deliberately misgendering transgender people.

In a post shared to X on April 2, Jenner called Rowling’s possible arrest “absurd.”

“JK Rowling facing arrest for ‘misgendering’ … absurd!” Jenner wrote. “This has gone way too far! You can ‘respect’ people’s pronouns or not. We cannot force or coerce this type of speech with the threats of jail time.”

JK Rowling facing arrest for ‘misgendering’ … absurd! This has gone way too far! You can ‘respect’ people’s pronouns or not. We cannot force or coerce this type of speech with the threats of jail time. Great convo with you @MariaBartiromo

— Caitlyn Jenner (@Caitlyn_Jenner) April 2, 2024

Jenner, a reality star and former Olympic athlete, came out as a transgender woman in 2015, but she has caused controversy with her desire to bar transgender people from competing in sports and prohibiting the teaching of gender identity in schools.

Speaking to The Telegraph, Brown said that under the new law, misgendering a transgender person could be a criminal offense: “It could be reported and it could be investigated. Whether or not the police would think it was criminal is up to Police Scotland for that.”

She added that the new law had a “very high threshold” and would focus on “threatening and abusive” behavior—whether in person or online.

In response to Brown’s comments, Rowling expressed her dissent with the legislation on X, formerly Twitter.

Rowling said the act was “open to abuse by activists” who wanted to “silence those of us speaking out.”

“In passing the Scottish Hate Crime Act, Scottish lawmakers seem to have placed higher value on the feelings of men performing their idea of femaleness, however misogynistically or opportunistically, than on the rights and freedoms of actual women and girls,” the author wrote.

She continued: “It is impossible to accurately describe or tackle the reality of violence and sexual violence committed against women and girls, or address the current assault on women’s and girls’ rights, unless we are allowed to call a man a man.

“Freedom of speech and belief are at an end in Scotland if the accurate description of biological sex is deemed criminal.”

Jenner’s post supporting Rowling has received more than 94,000 views. Newsweek has contacted Caitlyn Jenner and J.K. Rowling for comment via email.

Many X users criticized Jenner’s post, with one commenter calling her a “traitor to the queer community.”

“So you’re OK with being called He?” another asked.

“You have completely disavowed your identity,” a user wrote.

Another asked, “Should you not be standing by your trans sisters?”

“I would just ask that people address people the way they want, whether, it is a nick name, birth name, or whatever, Just call people what they want,” a commenter said.

“The whole community supported you in the beginning,” a user wrote. “You come across like you are completely against the very person you are. It’s weird.”

Other social media users supported the former Keeping Up With the Kardashians star, with one writing on X, “Things are going out of control.”

“People are so easily offended today,” another added.

“100%! It’s insanity,” a commenter said.

“Having an opinion on something shouldn’t give you jail time,” another wrote.

A user commented: “Friends, if they can do this to J.K Rowling (who is super Rich) Try and Imagine what they will try to do with the rest of us!!!”

On April 2, Police Scotland said no action would be taken against Rowling for her posts about the Hate Crime and Public Order Act, although it had received complaints about the author.