Despite repeated attacks on her from progressive quarters, J.K. Rowling, the best-selling author of the Harry Potter saga, is showing more than ever her determination not to give in to the tyrannical onslaught of wokism.
Since 2018, Rowling has been the subject of a systematic campaign of denigration and insults for daring to express positions on Twitter that are deemed ‘transphobic.’ In March 2018, Rowling was guilty of liking a tweet referring to ‘trans’ women as “men wearing dresses”—a simple blunder, according to her agents. But in December 2019, the author compounded her case by supporting British business woman Maya Forstater, who was sacked for claiming that gender identity was a matter of biology. In June 2020, the final nail that sealed Rowling’s coffin took the form of a tweet that mocked the label “people who menstruate.” It was one tweet too many, the signal for a stampede that set the ruthless machine of ‘trans’ activism in motion with the aim of crushing her for good.
The actors of the Harry Potter series, led by Emma Watson, joined in and attacked her. Fans turned away, rolling her in the mud. Some even posted pictures of the writer’s house with her mailing address. “I could wallpaper the walls of my house with the hate messages and threats I receive,” says the author, who nevertheless ended up taking the matter to the Scottish authorities.
Rowling resists. She has thick skin, as evidenced by the article she eventually published—not to deny herself, but to take responsibility for her words in no uncertain terms: “I refuse to bow down to a movement that I believe is doing demonstrable harm in seeking to erode ‘woman’ as a political and biological class.”
Five years after the offensive against the bestselling author was launched, her opponents are forced to admit that they have not succeeded. Her latest novel, The Ink Black Heart, published under her pseudonym Robert Galbraith at the end of August 2022, topped the UK sales charts with over 50,000 copies sold in one week according to BookSeller.com. As for her past productions, they are far from being shunned by readers. According to the book market analysis website NPD Bookscan, all of J.K. Rowling’s books sold more than 3.6 million copies in the United States between April 2021 and March 2022—an increase of 9.3% over the same period a year earlier. This unwavering success in bookstores gives her the strength to stay the course and stay true to her convictions. The films based on her works also continue to bring in good money from streaming platforms, long after their release. In the face of Rowling’s resistance, stars such as comedian Dave Chapelle and Tom Felton—who plays the character of Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter movies—have come out in support.
Recently, J.K. Rowling decided to switch her activism up a gear. She is no longer content to defend herself. Now, she is attacking.
She holds in her sights the main ‘LGBTQ+’ association in the United Kingdom, Stonewall (which she has sued), and the ‘LGBT+’ media Pinknews; she opposes the Scottish bill, designed to simplify administrative procedures for people looking to legally ‘transition;’ she publicly opposes the UK NGO Mermaids, which aims to support trans people and their families. Rowling denounced on Twitter the mass distribution of puberty blockers promoted by Mermaids—often sought out without parental consent—and exposed the paedophilia advocate who sits on their board.
Today, Mermaids is under scrutiny by British authorities. Rowling’s action has liberated the organisation from the relative impunity under which it operated.
