J.K. Rowling has declared war on a transgender broadcaster, after getting into a public spat over the Harry Potter author misgendering her.
British writer Rowling—who has faced backlash over her stance on trans women for more than four years—has been threatened with legal action by broadcaster India Willoughby, who describes herself as the world’s first transgender newsreader.
On Sunday, Rowling took to X, formerly Twitter, to complain about men, including those who identify as transgender, being allowed to use female locker rooms. Another X user then sent Rowling a video of Willoughby, asking if she believed “this lady should use the men’s locker room.”
“You’ve sent me the wrong video,” Rowling responded. “There isn’t a lady in this one, just a man [reveling] in his misogynistic performance of what he thinks ‘woman’ means: narcissistic, shallow and exhibitionist.”
When the X user asked how Willoughby could be a misogynist if she “[became] a woman,” Rowling hit back: “India didn’t become a woman. India is cosplaying a misogynistic male fantasy of what a woman is.”
Willoughby responded by saying that she was “genuinely disgusted” by Rowling’s comments about her. “Grotesque transphobia, which is upsetting,” Willoughby wrote. “I am every bit as much a woman as JK Rowling. Recognised in law, and by everyone I interact with every day. The debate about whether JK Rowling is a transphobe is over.”
Defending her position in a follow-up X post, Rowling, who has clashed with Willoughby in the past, said: “Accurately sexing trans-identified men who send misogynistic abuse to women is not discrimination. ‘Man’ is not a slur. I know a lot of you think the UN should intervene whenever women bruise your egos, but there is no human right to universal validation.”
In her own posts, Willoughby accused Rowling of “indisputable transphobic bullying,” adding: “If I ever get murdered, you know who to blame. #StochasticTerrorism.”
Stochastic terrorism is when public figures incite attacks on individuals or groups without actually calling for such violence.
In a video interview with Byline TV that was published on X on Wednesday, Willoughby declared that she was taking legal action against Rowling, having reported her to the police in Northumbria, England.
“JK Rowling’s definitely committed a crime,” Willoughby said in the video. “I’m legally a woman, she knows I’m a woman, and she calls me a man. It’s a protected characteristic, and that is a breach of both the Equalities Act and the Gender Recognition Act.”
“She’s tweeted that out to 14 million followers,” Willoughby went on. “If you check out the accounts that have been responding to me on the back of that—her trigger—it’s absolutely disgusting, putrid. Some of the worst abuse I’ve ever seen on social media.”
When asked about what she planned to do about it, Willoughby said: “I have reported J.K. Rowling to the police for what she said, which I don’t know if that’s gonna be treated as a hate crime, malicious communications. But it’s a cut and dried offence, as far as I’m concerned.
“Transgender identity is a protected characteristic, just as race is, just as sexuality is,” Willoughby added. “And the equivalent of what JK Rowling said, calling a trans person a man, deliberately, knowing that that person is a woman—and I am a woman, regardless of what J.K. Rowling says. I’ve been through everything that’s required of me. My birth certificate says female, my passport, all of my documents. I am legally recognised as a woman. And for J.K. Rowling to deliberately, and that is the key word, misgender me, knowing who I am, is grossly offensive.”
Rowling hit back in a string of X posts on Tuesday, writing: “Some time ago, lawyers advised me that not only did I have a clearly winnable case against India Willoughby for defamation, but that India’s obsessive targeting of me over the past few years may meet the legal threshold for harassment.”
Some time ago, lawyers advised me that not only did I have a clearly winnable case against India Willoughby for defamation, but that India’s obsessive targeting of me over the past few years may meet the legal threshold for harassment. 1/5 https://t.co/kMSMBWO7gm
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) March 6, 2024
Doubling down on her misgendering of Willoughby, Rowling shared screenshots of the broadcaster’s comments on a variety of subjects. “I ignored this advice because I couldn’t be bothered giving India the publicity he so clearly craves,” Rowling wrote. “Nevertheless, we must all do our bit to combat hate, so India will be glad to know I’ve taken note of his homophobia, racism, and humane stance on immigration.”
“Nor have I forgotten India’s shocking transphobia,” said Rowling, as she shared another screenshot of one of Willoughby’s X posts. “It appears to have slipped what passes for India’s mind that he’s previously called a fellow trans woman a man on this very site.
“Surprisingly for such an eminent legal authority, he appears to have forgotten that the Forstater ruling established that gender critical views can be protected in law as a philosophical belief,” Rowling stated, in reference to Willoughby accusing her of a hate crime. “No law compels anyone to pretend to believe that India is a woman.”
Rounding out her thread, Rowling concluded: “Aware as I am that it’s an offence to lie to law enforcement, I’ll simply have to explain to the police that, in my view, India is a classic example of the male narcissist who lives in a state of perpetual rage that he can’t compel women to take him at his own valuation.”
When contacted by Newsweek, a representative of Rowling declined to comment. Newsweek has contacted a representative of Willoughby via email for comment.
Views on Transgender Issues
Rowling stirred controversy in 2019 when she publicly supported Maya Forstater, a U.K. tax specialist who was fired over tweets that were deemed to be anti-trans.
In an essay published on her personal website in June 2020, Rowling shared some of her views on transgender issues.
She wrote: “When you throw open the doors of bathrooms and changing rooms to any man who believes or feels he’s a woman—and, as I’ve said, gender confirmation certificates may now be granted without any need for surgery or hormones—then you open the door to any and all men who wish to come inside. That is the simple truth.”
Also in June 2020, Rowling reacted to an article that referred to “people who menstruate,” tweeting: “I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?”
While some trans activists branded Rowling a “TERF”—an acronym for trans-exclusionary radical feminist—she stood her ground on the issue.
Rowling tweeted at the time: “If sex isn’t real, there’s no same-sex attraction. If sex isn’t real, the lived reality of women globally is erased. I know and love trans people, but erasing the concept of sex removes the ability of many to meaningfully discuss their lives. It isn’t hate to speak the truth.”
“I respect every trans person’s right to live any way that feels authentic and comfortable to them,” she went on. “I’d march with you if you were discriminated against on the basis of being trans. At the same time, my life has been shaped by being female. I do not believe it’s hateful to say so.”
Several actors associated with the Harry Potter franchise have publicly disagreed with her, including Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint.
In July 2021, Rowling stated on Twitter that she had received a “pipebomb” threat amid an onslaught of attacks over her previous statements about trans women.
She has continued to speak out about the way that the internet has “canceled” her, tweeting in support of singer Macy Gray, who in July 2022 made several controversial comments on the definition of a woman.
Gray faced backlash on Twitter, prompting Rowling to write in response: “Endless death and rape threats, threats of loss of livelihood, employers targeted, physical harassment, family address posted online with picture of bomb-making manual aren’t ‘mean comments.’ If you don’t yet understand what happens to women who stand up on this issue, back off.”
