JK Rowling blasts three trans activists for trying to ‘intimidate’ her by posting picture of her address on Twitter as she reveals she’s received so many death threats for her views on gender that she ‘could paper the house with them’
- Three activists posed outside JK Rowling’s house while holding pro-trans signs
- Author has now hit out at the activists for sharing her address on social media
- It is the latest chapter in a row which has seen Rowling accused of transphobia
JK Rowling has blasted three trans activists for trying to ‘intimidate’ her after they posted a picture of her address on social media.
The author, 56, has been accused of transphobia in recent months and is a notable absence from the upcoming Harry Potter 20th anniversary reunion.
The row was sparked when Rowling mocked an online article which used the words ‘people who menstruate’ instead of ‘women’.
In the latest chapter, three activists stood outside Rowling’s Edinburgh home while holding pro-trans signs last Friday.
The author’s address was clearly visible in the background of a photo of the activists, that was shared widely on Twitter.
Hitting out at the trio, Rowling accused them of ‘doxxing’ her and trying to intimade her for ‘speaking up for women’s sex-based rights’. She named them as Holly Stars, Georgia Frost and Richard Energy.
She also revealed that she has received so many death threats over the trans row that she could ‘paper the house with them’.
Holly Stars later posted a statement on social media saying they had removed the photo after being inundated with abuse.
Three activists stood outside JK Rowling’s Edinburgh home while holding pro-trans signs last Friday
Hitting out at the trio, Rowling accused them of ‘doxxing’ her and trying to intimade her for ‘speaking up for women’s sex-based rights’. She named them as Holly Stars, Georgia Frost and Richard Energy
Addressing the activists, Rowling tweeted today: ‘Last Friday, my family’s address was posted on Twitter by three activist actors who took pictures of themselves in front of our house, carefully positioning themselves to ensure that our address was visible
‘I want to say a massive thank you to everybody who reported the image to @TwitterSupport. Your kindness and decency made all the difference to my family and me. I’d also like to thank @PoliceScotland for their support and assistance in this matter
‘Over the last few years I’ve watched, appalled, as women like Allison Bailey, Raquel Sanchez, Marion Miller, Rosie Duffield, Joanna Cherry, Julie Bindel, Rosa Freedman, Kathleen Stock and many, many others, including women who have no public profile but who’ve contacted me to relate their experiences, have been subject to campaigns of intimidation which range from being hounded on social media, the targeting of their employers, all the way up to doxing and direct threats of violence, including rape.
‘None of these women are protected in the way I am. They and their families have been put into a state of fear and distress for no other reason than that they refuse to uncritically accept that the socio-political concept of gender identity should replace that of sex.
‘I have to assume that @IAmGeorgiaFrost, @hollywstars and @Richard_Energy_ thought doxxing me would intimidate me out of speaking up for women’s sex-based rights.
‘They should have reflected on the fact that I’ve now received so many death threats I could paper the house with them, and I haven’t stopped speaking out. Perhaps – and I’m just throwing this out there – the best way to prove your movement isn’t a threat to women, is to stop stalking, harassing and threatening us.’
In response, Holly Stars wrote: ‘Yesterday we posted a picture we took at JK Rowling’s house.
‘While we stand by the photo, since posting it we have received an overwhelming amount of serious and threatening transphobic messages so have decided to take the photo down. #transrightsarehumanrights. Love to our trans siblings.’
The post was signed ‘G, Richard, Holly’.
Holly Stars is a popular drag queen with her own Amazon Prime series. She is also a stand-up comedian, comedy writer, cabaret host and seen as one of the UK’s most popular drag talents.
She is the writer and star of west end show Death Drop, currently embarking on its first UK tour and also produces and presents a monthly Soho cabaret.
Richard Energy, one of the other activists, is a drag king and comedian who performs across London. He has appeared in several contests and is considered a growing star in the scene.
Georgia Frost, the third activist, is an actress who has appeared in BBC productions including Casualty and sitcom The Other One.
All three activists have now taken down their Twitter accounts in light of the row.
It is the latest chapter in a trans row that has engulfed Rowling since she took to Twitter in June 2020 to criticise an opinion piece that used the term ‘people who menstruate’ instead of women.
‘I’m sure there used to be a word for these people,’ she tweeted at the time. ‘Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?’
She then continued with a thread discussing biological sex.
‘If sex isn’t real, there’s no same-sex attraction,’ she claimed. ‘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.’
Rowling later clarified that she respects ‘every trans person’s rights to live any way that feels authentic and comfortable to them,’ and went on to say she would march ‘if you were discriminated against on the basis of being trans.
‘At the same time, my life has been shaped by being female,’ Rowling said, the Associated Press reported at the time. ‘I do not believe it’s hateful to say so.’
The children’s book author was accused of being transphobic in June 2020 after she criticized an opinion piece that used the term ‘people who menstruate’ instead of women, and tweeted about biological sex
She was then embroiled in another controversy after it was revealed that the villain in her latest book Troubled Blood (right) is a male serial killer who dresses as a woman to slay his victims
Then, in September 2020, she faced renewed calls of transphobia after it was revealed the the villain in her latest book, Troubled Blood – written under Rowling’s pseudonym Robert Galbraith – is a male serial killer who dresses as a woman to slay his victims.
An early review of the 900-page book by The Daily Telegraph – in which the critic states the book’s ‘moral seems to be: never trust a man in a dress’ – sparked immediate backlash online.
In the wake of these remarks, Harry Potter actors Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Daniel Radcliffe and Eddie Redmayne, who stars in her Fantastic Beasts films criticized the author for her remarks.
And in March, Rupert Grint, who plays Ron Weasley in the beloved film series admitted that he felt he needed to stand up for transgender people following Rowling’s remarks.
He said that while he was ‘not an authority’ on the debate, he felt he had a responsibility to speak out in support of the trans community as ‘silence is louder’.
In an interview with Esquire, he said: ‘I am hugely grateful [for] everything that she’s done. I think that she’s extremely talented, and I mean, clearly, her works are genius.’
‘But yeah, I think also you can have huge respect for someone and still disagree with things like that…
‘Sometimes silence is even louder. I felt like I had to because I think it was important to. I mean, I don’t want to talk about all that… Generally, I’m not an authority on the subject.
‘Just out of kindness, and just respecting people. I think it’s a valuable group that I think needs standing up for.’
However, collection of over 50 actors, writers, playwrights, journalists later joined together to pen a letter in response to ‘hate speech’ directed against Rowling.
Signatories of the letter include Booker winner Ian McEwan, actor Griff Rhys Jones, actress Frances Barber and playwright Sir Tom Stoppard.
Now, the cast is set to return for the 20th anniversary special, which ‘tell an enchanting making-of story through all-new, in-depth interviews and cast conversations,’ according to HBO Max.
A release said it would feature stars Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint – who have not made a public appearance together since the premiere of the last premiere of the franchise, Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2, in July 2011, as well as filmmaker Chris Columbus, who directed the blockbuster film.
But the release does not mention the person responsible for the creation of the characters, author JK Rowling, who has been criticized for her views on transgender people.
Sources close to the project told TMZ that it will focus on the creation of the first film 20 years ago, and the central cast and crew.
They said Rowling will be shown in archival footage from the creation of the first movie, but will not make a new appearance in the special.
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