Harry Potter author JK Rowling has mocked trans rights activists who plan not to watch the new TV version of the series because she says she has “too much champagne stock” to celebrate.
The writer, who is said to be worth £850m, took to Twitter saying she had “shocking news” that she needed to share with fans, before making sarcastic comments towards people who support equal rights for transgender people.
Rowling has been called transphobic because of her many assertions surrounding the LGBT+ community, including that transgender men and women should not be able to access single-gender spaces that are gender-appropriate.
Some trans rights supporters are now calling for a boycott of the new TV show, which is set to run for a decade and see Rowling take a leadership role as producer.
On Friday, she wrote: “Awful news, which I feel obligated to share. The activists you mentioned are trying to organize another boycott of my work, this time for the Harry Potter TV show.
JK Rowling has become a controversial figure in recent years due to her outspoken criticism of transgender rights
“As forewarned, I have taken the precaution of putting in a large stock of champagne.”
Her comments point to some on Twitter calling on those who support transgender rights not to watch the show in solidarity with the LGBT+ community.
She later added that she was planning a “party” to celebrate the boycott, and offered to send details to certain accounts.
After the announcement of the new TV series, one user said: “A friendly reminder, Harry Potter is so easy to boycott. Like that easy.”
Another wrote: “Fully expected to boycott Harry Potter.”
A third added: ‘If you really loved Harry Potter as much as you do, you would do what Hermione Granger would do and boycott a company that supports a person who advocates persecution.
All you want is to side with JKR because you don’t think so. Or you just hate trans people.
The show is produced by HBO Max and will feature a series for every book that will be released over a decade.
The series is set to feature an entirely new cast of characters, with none of the stars of the original films returning to screens.
This follows The three main stars, Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint, all support the transgender community In the wake of Rowling’s comments.
JK Rowling has been given a role as an executive producer on the show, along with Neil Blair and Ruth Kinley Letts. David Heyman, the executive producer who has produced all of the Harry Potter films, is currently in talks to become an executive producer.
Rowling also received intense criticism after she argued that women should not be fired from their jobs for views that deny the existence or validity of transgender people due to strict beliefs about biological sex.
The new HBO Max series will feature an all-new cast with none of the main stars returning
Daniel Radcliffe, who played the main role of Harry Potter, has apologized to all the fans who were hurt by Rowling’s comments because he is very supportive of transgender rights.
In another Twitter spat, she attacked musician Billy Bragg after he retweeted a video of Graham Norton discussing the negatives of cancel culture and encouraging people to talk to trans children, parents and doctors before deciding on transgender issues.
Bragg, 64, shared the video and commented that Norton was “really good” at cancel culture and “JK Rowling.”
Rowling saw the tweet and attacked the singer, saying she was “enjoying the recent wave of bearded men confidently stepping on their soap boxes to define who a woman is and offer their support behind rape and death threats.”
But Bragg did not specify what the woman was at any point in his initial tweet, and simply endorsed Norton’s suggestion that people discuss trans issues with parents of trans children or doctors and psychologists rather than referencing the views of celebrities.
After Rowling implied that Norton and Bragg were “misogynists,” she received widespread backlash from social media users over the allegation, for which she provides no evidence.
She has also been embroiled in a fight with Nicola Sturgeon over Scottish plans to allow 16- and 17-year-olds to obtain Gender Recognition Certificates (GRCs), sparking outrage when she appeared to suggest the former SNP leader would be directly responsible for sexual violence.
Writing for The Sunday Times, Rowling said Ms Sturgeon would take personal responsibility for hypothetical cases of “voyeurism, sexual harassment, assault or rape” which she believed would come from the bill.
It comes after the author wore a T-shirt branding Sturgeon as a “destroyer of women’s rights” for introducing legislation allowing transgender people to identify themselves.
She also recently supported Posie Parker, aka Kellie-Jay Keen, who claims to be a women’s rights activist.
Emma Watson previously said, “Trans people are who they are and deserve to live their lives without being constantly questioned or told they are not who they say they are.”
“Trans women are women,” said Rupert Grint. Transgender men are men. We should all be entitled to live in love and without judgment.
The new series has been announced by HBO and Warner Bros. earlier this month
Parker, who previously refused to describe herself as a feminist, recently embarked on a tour through Australia and New Zealand, which was attended by dozens of neo-Nazis.
Groups of men have been seen performing Nazi salutes at Parker rallies, and just last week sparked a new controversy. She claimed the entire “so-called LGBT community” was nothing more than “a bunch of guys in dresses.”.
Commenting on the new Harry Potter series, Casey Bloys, Chairman and CEO of HBO and Max Content, said, “We are thrilled to give fans the opportunity to discover Hogwarts in a whole new way.”
“Harry Potter is a cultural phenomenon and there is clearly an enduring love and thirst for the Wizarding World.
In partnership with Warner Bros. Television and JK Rowling, this new Max Original series will dive deep into each of the iconic books that fans have continued to enjoy all these years.
Max will produce in collaboration with Brontë Film and TV and Warner Bros. Pictures. Television.
