JK Rowling today revealed how pro-trans activists bombarded her with cut-and-paste messages about imaginary children ‘upset with her views’.
The Harry Potter and Strike writer, 57, showed examples of different Twitter accounts posting identical messages to him.
All claim they are parents who have a trans daughter who is “heartbroken” over her views on gender.
Viewed together, it is undeniable that some of the messages are identical and have clearly been copied.
A mother-of-three, Ms Rowling has campaigned for women’s rights and women-only spaces amid safety fears that predatory men could pose as women to use them.
But an extremist fringe of the pro-trans movement has twisted that to suggest she’s transphobic.
JK Rowling, 57, is regularly attacked online by extremist pro-trans activists because of her views
These identical messages have exactly the same content and are addressed to the author of the hit
Again, this copied post shows the exact same text accusing the author of being transphobic
Showcasing examples of the messages being copied, Ms Rowling ridiculed them with her own, saying: ‘My one-year-old son just looked up from Twitter and said ‘Mom why did you make these very real kids sad with your hateful but unproven fanaticism?
‘Then he ran upstairs and burned all his Potter books. I was so ashamed that I almost forgot the kid was imaginary.
The final remark refers to a growing trend online for people to set fire to Ms Rowling’s novels about the famous boy wizard.
The messages that the author has collected seem to show that there is a set of two messages that are widely repeated and sent to him.
One said: “My trans daughter loved your books, but after you became fanatic she cried and asked me ‘dad, why do people hate people who are different from them?’ don’t know baby, I don’t know.
The second varies the age of the imaginary child between 9 and 12 years old at the time of display.
He says: My transgender daughter cries every time she sees one of your transphobic posts.
“She’s a huge Harry Potter fan, but seeing the author of her favorite book series be so bigoted is heartbreaking.”
“Please, JK, put a smile on my daughter’s face.”
Trainspotting author Irvine Welsh last week came to Ms Rowling’s defence, saying she had been ‘demonized’ as ‘some kind of witch’ by online extremists because of her views.
The 64-year-old Scottish, whose novel was made into a cult film by Danny Boyle in 1996, said she was “just trying to protect women’s spaces”.
Trainspotting author Irvine Welsh has said JK Rowling has been “demonized” as “some kind of witch” because of her views on transgender issues. Pictured is the Harry Potter author wearing a t-shirt calling former SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon a ‘destroyer of women’s rights’
JK Rowling ridiculed the copied posts with one of her own, written in a very similar style
Talk to The temperaturethe author even claimed to have consulted “trans advisers” while writing his latest book The Long Knives, which came out last year.
JK Rowling has repeatedly been called transphobic for her views regarding the LGBT+ debate on social media.
But Mr Welsh said he admired her integrity and believes her feminist stance has been misrepresented as wanting to ‘destroy trans people’.
He said: “She has been demonized as some kind of witch who wants to destroy trans people, but she just wants women-only spaces protected.
“There has to be a way to advance trans rights without attacking women’s rights.”
He said the toxic nature of the debate has been taken up by online extremists, adding: ‘There is a huge difference between the majority of trans people and their portrayal on social media.’
“It’s the same with feminists, anarchists, socialists, even fascists – each group has a much more extreme and narcissistic element on social media.”
Asked about the trans debate, the author said he had “consulted with trans advisers” for his new book as well as the TV show, adding: “You have to listen to people who know more than you know yourself.
“There are too many straight white men giving their opinion on everything. I am here to educate myself.