For Defying Their Devotion to Trans Rights, J.K. Rowling fires at Emma Watson and Daniel Radcliffe.

J.K. Rowling is doubling (tripling? quadrupling?) down on her anti-trans rhetoric, involving Emma Watson and Daniel Radcliffe from Harry Potter. The author took to social media to condemn a new research on sex identity services for youth, and while doing so, took aim at “celebrity mouthpieces” who, Rowling believes, “cosied up to a movement intent on eroding women’s hard-won rights”.

Pediatrician Hilary Cass released a new independent review of gender identity services for children and young people under the age of 18 earlier this week. According to Cass’ review, children were let down by a lack of research and “remarkably weak” evidence on gender care interventions. The study added that there is “no good evidence on the long-term effects of interventions to manage gender-related distress” between health care providers and patients, and that children and young people using gender-related care services deserve the highest standards of care and research, which are expected elsewhere in the NHS.

Rowling was inspired to post on social media by the report. Rowling praised Cass’ report in a thread for which she cited as “the most thorough review of the medical evidence for transitioning children ever conducted”, while defending her own position on the negative effects of gender-affirming care for children. “If I sound angry, it’s because I’m bloody angry”, Rowling posted. “I read Cass this morning, and I’ve been getting more angry.” Kids have been irreversibly harmed, and thousands are complicit, not just medics, but the celebrity mouthpieces, unquestioning media, and cynical corporations”.

In reality, Cass’s review is more objective than Rowling’s impassioned response suggests. Per NHS policy, children ages 16 and older have the option to receive gender-affirming hormones. The Cass review doesn’t mention the irreversible “harm” Rowling refers to, and instead advises “extreme caution” to young people considering that choice. The review concludes that there should be a clear clinical justification for giving hormones right away rather than waiting until a person reaches 18 years old. A national multidisciplinary team (MDT) should be in charge of any medical case that needs to be evaluated. The review also makes attention to the “toxic” impact of the debate about gender-affirming care for young people and the impact it has on children.

Cass told the BBC, “What’s unfortunate happened to these young people is that because of the toxicity of the debate, they’ve frequently been bypassed by local services who’ve been really nervous about seeing them.”

Rowling continued to contribute to the toxic effects of this statement, criticizing Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson, both of whom are fans of trans rights. In response to Rowling’s thread, a social media user said, “Just waiting for Dan and Emma to give you a very public apology… safe in the knowledge that you will forgive them.” “Not safe, I’m afraid”, responded Rowling. Celebrities who supported a movement that wanted to “erode” women’s hard-won rights and used their platforms to support the transition of minors can save their apologies for traumatized detransitioners and vulnerable women who rely on single-sex spaces.

Radcliffe and Watson have remained unwavering in their support of transgender equality. In 2020, Radcliffe wrote a blog post for LGBTQ+ advocacy group the Trevor Project, directly calling out Rowling in the process. “Transgender women are women,” wrote Radcliffe. Any claim that the opposite is true erases transgender people’s identity and dignity and goes against the advice given by professional health care organizations, who have far greater expertise in this area than [Rowling] or I.

In the same year, Watson took to Twitter to express her support for the transgender community. “Trans people are who they say they are, and they deserve to live their lives without being constantly questioned or told they are not who they claim to be,” she wrote. “I want my transgender followers to know that they are viewed, respected, and loved for who they are, just like everyone else.”