“Freedom of speech and belief is over in Scotland if accurately describing one’s biological sex is considered a criminal offence,” said the author, who lives in Edinburgh. “I am out of the country at the moment, but if what I have written here constitutes an offense under the terms of the new law, I look forward to being arrested when I return to the birthplace of the Scottish Enlightenment.”
In her posts, Rowling shares several photos of famous trans women, criticizing their womanhood. “April 1st!”, she concludes. “The people I mentioned earlier are of course not women, but just men.”
It is not the first time that Rowling has made controversial statements about trans people. Earlier this month, presenter India Willoughby, who is also now included in the list, reported the incident to the police. The writer is said to have addressed Willoughby, who underwent gender reassignment surgery in 2015, several times as ‘he’ and ‘him’ while Willoughby uses the pronouns ‘she’ and ‘her’.
Since 2020, Rowling has regularly expressed herself in the debate surrounding trans people. Actors Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter), Emma Watson (Hermione Granger) and Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley) almost immediately distanced themselves from their ‘creator’ after she said she made transphobic comments on the then Twitter (now X). Some writers also left the literary agency of the Harry Potter writer.
