Warning: This article contains discussion of trans issues which some readers may find distressing.
JK Rowling has criticized some of her former colleagues in a new book amid an ongoing conflict with some of the stars of Harry Potter.
Rowling made scathing comments about 'despicable' former colleagues in an exclusive extract from her upcoming book, The Women Who Wouldn’t Say Wheesht, which has been shared with The Times.
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The extract details what Rowling describes as a fight for women and discusses the 'backlash' she has experienced for speaking out about gender ideology.
The Harry Potter author has faced a lot criticism for her comments regarding the transgender community, with Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson among those who showed unwavering support for the community in response.
More recently, Rowling indicated she would not forgive the actors for their stance, and said they could 'save their apologies'.
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Radcliffe, meanwhile, has said the distance between himself and the woman who created Harry Potter now makes him 'sad'.
Speaking to The Atlantic, he said: "Jo, obviously Harry Potter would not have happened without her, so nothing in my life would have probably happened the way it is without that person.
“But that doesn’t mean that you owe the things you truly believe to someone else for your entire life.”
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Now, Rowling has revealed that the opinions of some of her former colleagues were not all that 'surprising' to her.
She claimed that people she'd previously worked with 'rushed to distance themselves' from her in the wake of her controversial comments, 'or to add their public condemnation of my blasphemous views'.
Rowling added that 'many former and current colleagues have been staunchly supportive' of her, but went on to claim that the more shocking outcome of the situation was how some of her old co-workers still wanted to be 'friends' afterwards.
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She wrote: "In truth, the condemnation of certain individuals was far less surprising to me than the fact that some of them then emailed me, or sent messages through third parties, to check that we were still friends."
"The thing is, those appalled by my position often fail to grasp how truly despicable I find theirs," she continued.
"I’ve watched “no debate” become the slogan of those who once posed as defenders of free speech. I’ve witnessed supposedly progressive men arguing that women don’t exist as an observable biological class and don’t deserve biology-based rights.
"I’ve listened as certain female celebrities insist that there isn’t the slightest risk to women and girls in allowing any man who self-identifies as a woman to enter single-sex spaces reserved for women, including changing rooms, bathrooms or rape shelters."
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"Better that a hundred women who aren’t up to speed with the latest gender jargon miss public health information than that one trans-identified individual feels invalidated, seems to be the view," Rowling concluded.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact the LGBT national hotline at 888-843-4564, available Monday to Friday 4pm-12am ET and 12pm-5pm ET on Saturdays.
Topics: JK Rowling, Harry Potter, Transgender, LGBTQ, Celebrity
Emily Brown