Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling has become a highly divisive figure since her feelings on gender and the trans community were made public some years ago, and the writer has continued to further alienate herself from her once loyal fanbase with what many perceive to be anti-trans rhetoric.
Rowling, who has been dubbed She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named in some Harry Potter fan circles, has always stuck to her guns and doubled-down on her views, but the controversial writer may now be facing some legal action.
Broadcaster India Willoughby has revealed that she filed a police complaint against Rowling over alleged transphobia during an interview with Byline TV on Wednesday night, claiming that she reported her to Northumbria Police for repeatedly misgendering her online as part of an ongoing feud.
“J.K. Rowling has definitely committed a crime. I’m legally a woman. She knows I’m a woman, and she called me a man,” the former Celebrity Big Brother contestant stated. “It’s a protected characteristic, and that is a breach of both the Equalities Act and the Gender Recognition Act. She’s tweeted that out to 14 million followers.”
Willoughby continued, “I have reported J.K. Rowling to the police for what she said, which I don’t know if that’s going to be treated as a hate crime, malicious communications — but it’s a cut-and-dry offense, as far as I’m concerned.”
Representatives for Northumbria Police have not weighed-in, but Rowling did respond to Willoughby via Twitter.
“Gender critical views can be protected in law as a philosophical belief. No law compels anyone to pretend to believe that India is a woman. Aware as I am that it’s an offence to lie to law enforcement, I’ll simply have to explain to the police that, in my view, India is a classic example of the male narcissist who lives in a state of perpetual rage that he can’t compel women to take him at his own valuation.”
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Last year, Warner Bros. Discovery officially announced that a new Harry Potter series is currently being developed for the HBO Max streaming service. The show will fully reboot the popular movies with an entirely new cast, and the plan is to re-adapt the source novels with each season dedicated to one of the seven books.
The news received a somewhat mixed response, and not just because so many fans feel that the films adapted the story perfectly well. The fact that Rowling is involved has come in for a lot of backlash, but HBO Chairman Casey Bloys dismissed concerns as a "very online conversation" at the time.
More recently, WBD boss David Zaslav mentioned that he flew to London to meet with Rowling about the show.
“We spent some real time with J.K. and her team,” Zaslav said. “Both sides are just thrilled to be reigniting this franchise. Our conversations were great, and we couldn’t be more excited about what’s ahead. We can’t wait to share a decade of new stories with fans around the world on Max.”