J.K. Rowling is calling for her own arrest in protest of Scotland’s new hate crime law as she continues to share anti-trans rhetoric on social media.
The “Harry Potter” author made the comments on Monday, the day that the crime of “stirring up hatred” relating to age, disability, religion, sexual orientation and transgender identity came into effect.
Rowling tested the law by listing 10 trans women, including a convicted rapist, sex abusers and high-profile activists on X, saying they were men.
“In passing the Scottish Hate Crime Act, Scottish lawmakers seem to have placed higher value on the feelings of men performing their idea of femaleness, however misogynistically or opportunistically, than on the rights and freedoms of actual women and girls,” she wrote in a lengthy thread.
Rowling continued: “For several years now, Scottish women have been pressured by their government and members of the police force to deny the evidence of their eyes and ears, repudiate biological facts and embrace a neo-religious concept of gender that is unprovable and untestable. The re-definition of ‘woman’ to include every man who declares himself one has already had serious consequences for women’s and girls’ rights and safety in Scotland, with the strongest impact felt, as ever, by the most vulnerable, including female prisoners and rape survivors.”
“I’m currently out of the country, but if what I’ve written here qualifies as an (offense) under the terms of the new act, I look forward to being arrested when I return to the birthplace of the Scottish Enlightenment,” she concluded.
Scotland’s First Minister Humza Yousaf said the bill was about “protecting people from a rising tide of hatred.”
“Unless your behavior is threatening or abusive and intends to stir up hatred, then you have nothing to worry about in terms of the new (offenses) being created,” he said in a statement.
Who is protected under the Scottish Hate Crime Act?
Women are not protected as a group, but the Scottish National Party-led government in Edinburgh is looking at separate reforms to specifically target misogyny.
Scotland has been at the forefront of extending rights to the transgender community but a previous attempt to make it easier to change a legal gender was blocked by the British government over concerns it would impinge existing equality legislation.
The new hate crime law has also faced criticism over its impact on freedom of speech and concerns that it could be used to silence some views, including from those who advocate for women-only spaces.
Scottish ministers have previously said misgendering people would not be an offense under the new law. However, Minister for Victims and Community Safety Siobhan Brown told BBC radio on Monday that it would be a matter for police to decide.
Britain’s prime minister supports J.K. Rowling amid Scotland’s new legislation
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said Britain had a proud tradition of free speech and that the new law had given the police the wrong priorities.
“We should not be criminalizing people saying common sense things about biological sex,” he told reporters. “Clearly that isn’t right.”
India Willoughby condemns J.K. Rowling for being ‘consumed by a hatred of trans people’
India Willoughby, Britain’s first transgender broadcaster and one of those who was listed by Rowling, questioned why anyone should “publicly denigrate and mock” trans people.
“What a sad pathetic sight. The best-known author in the world sitting up all night to write a mega-long troll post about me, because she’s consumed by a hatred of trans people. Completely deranged,” Willoughby said on X.
Last month, the broadcaster said she reported the author to U.K. law enforcement for misgendering her on social media.
Willoughby, a co-host of the popular ITV network talk show “Loose Women,” revealed in an interview with Byline TV released March 7 that she “reported J.K. Rowling to the police for what she said.” Willoughby added that she’d contacted Northumbria Police “yesterday” regarding the matter.
The “Loose Women” co-host’s name was brought up on March 5, after another social media user shared a GIF of Willoughby dancing in a comment thread under one of Rowling’s posts on X, formerly Twitter. The British author replied, “India didn’t become a woman. India is cosplaying a misogynistic male fantasy of what a woman is.”
In the interview, Willoughby said, “For J.K. Rowling to deliberately misgender me knowing who I am is grossly offensive. It is a hate crime.
“I don’t know if (the police report is) going to be treated as a hate crime, malicious communications, but it’s a cut-and-dried offense, as far as I’m concerned,” she said.
A spokesperson for Northumbria Police declined to confirm the identities of the complainant and other involved parties but confirmed they had received “a complaint about a post on social media.”
“We are currently awaiting to speak to the complainant further,” the statement read.
J.K. Rowlingon her controversial trans views: ‘Time will tell whether I’ve got this wrong’
J.K. Rowling’s comments about transgender people date back to 2019
Rowling first came under fire in 2019 for posting a message of support for Maya Forstater, a researcher who lost her job at a think tank for stating that people cannot change their biological sex, on X.
In response, GLAAD shared a statement condemning Rowling for aligning “with an anti-science ideology that denies the basic humanity of people who are transgender. Trans men, trans women, and non-binary people are not a threat, and to imply otherwise puts trans people at risk.”
Months later, Rowling made a similar stir in criticizing a headline on the website devex.com. The op-ed piece included the phrase “people who menstruate” to be more inclusive. “I’m sure there used to be a word for those people,” Rowling posted on X. “Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?”
J.K. Rowling’s ‘dehumanizing’misgendering post reported to UK police, TV personality says
After facing backlash, Rowling stood her ground, claiming her life “has been shaped by being female” and defended the exclusionary comments while arguing she still supports transgender people.
“I know and love trans people, but erasing the concept of sex removes the ability of many to meaningfully discuss their lives,” she wrote in a series of X posts. “It isn’t hate to speak the truth … I respect every trans person’s right to live any way that feels authentic and comfortable to them. I’d march with you if you were discriminated against on the basis of being trans. At the same time, my life has been shaped by being female. I do not believe it’s hateful to say so.”
Last year, Rowling addressed the criticism she’s received on the podcast “The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling.”
“I absolutely knew that if I spoke out, many people who would love my books would be deeply unhappy with me,” Rowling said. “Time will tell whether I’ve got this wrong. I can only say that I’ve thought about it deeply and hard and long and I’ve listened, I promise, to the other side.”
Contributing: Naledi Ushe, KiMi Robinson, Barbara VanDenburgh and Hannah Yasharoff, USA TODAY; Paul Sandle, Reuters
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