‘The attempt to intimidate me is meant as a warning to women’: JK Rowling tells the podcast ‘Witch Trials’ that the backlash she has received about her trans views is being used as a threat to silence others
JK Rowling says the threats and harassment she has faced because of her stance on transgender issues have been used to scare other women into silence.
In a new podcast, The Witch Trials of JK Rowling, the Harry Potter author said, “I’ve had direct threats of violence and people have come to my house where my kids live and I’ve put my address online.
“I have had what the police consider to be credible threats. The pushback is often, “You’re rich. You can afford security. You have not been silenced.”
“That’s all true, but that misses the mark. The attempt to intimidate and silence me is intended as a warning to other women. And I say that because I’ve seen it used that way.
“I’ve seen other women, and other women have told me they’ve been told ‘look what happened to JK Rowling – watch yourself’.”
JK Rowling tells a new podcast that the threads and harassment she’s received for speaking out on trans issues are being used to silence other women
Ms Rowling, 57, said she has long been aware of the rise of ‘a kind of puritanism’ that is ‘very illiberal’.
Speaking to podcast host Megan Phelps-Roper, she also lamented the increasing prevalence of a form of “authoritarianism” that “transcends all political persuasion.”
The author then addressed the issue of online bullying and revealed how she was duped by Harry Potter readers after secretly joining a fan forum.
She said, “I picked a random name and went to this chat room where people shared theories.
“I gave an opinion that was very lackluster and I was knocked over by users telling me in no uncertain terms to just get it out. I’m not known in that room, I’m obviously an idiot who knows nothing. And I left.
‘I had written three and a half books where bullying is such a theme. From the first page, bullying and authoritarian behavior is considered one of the worst human evils.
“And look what just happened. And these people who call themselves such fans of this franchise.
“What if I had been a 12-year-old girl who was thrilled to enter this room and was immediately chastised for not fitting in?
Speaking on a new podcast, The Witch Trials of JK Rowling, the Harry Potter author said: ‘I’ve had direct threats of violence and people have come to my house where my kids live and I’ve put my address online’
“I thought that was so interesting that you are passionate about these books and yet over the course of your life you behave in a way that I would describe as one of the worst human behaviors.”
She added, “There were individual trolls on the forums purely to be offensive. It was an edge, but it was definitely there.
“At first I thought it was kind of funny, but over time I really started to see it as bullying.
“There was an edge to picking out vulnerable people and I was well aware at the time that many kids who felt like outsiders ended up in Potter.
“I felt protective of those people, so seeing trolls operating in those spaces started to worry me.”
Ms. Rowling has repeatedly insisted on the biological immutability of biological sex and questioned whether trans women should be allowed access to some female-only spaces.
Earlier this year, Bafta-nominated composer Christian Henson left the £55.1 million company he founded after being hounded by LGBTQI+ activists for supporting the author’s views.
