Famed author J.K. Rowling was dragged on Twitter.com for agreeing with a woman who was fired for saying men can’t change into women.
Rowling, the first author to achieve a net worth of $1 billion, took sides with Maya Forstater, who lost her job last year for tweeting that a man can’t be a woman.
Forstater tweeted in September 2018:
“What I am so surprised at is that smart people I admire, who … champion human rights & womens rights are tying themselves in knots to avoid saying the truth that men cannot change into women (because that might hurt mens feelings.”
After Forstater was fired for stating a biological fact, she received support from prominent public figures, including Rowling.
The Harry Potter author returned to Twitter.com after a hiatus to double down her defense of Forstater.
“Dress however you please. Call yourself whatever you like. Sleep with any consenting adult who’ll have you. Live your best life in peace and security,” the 54-year-old tweeted. “But force women out of their jobs for stating that [biological] sex is real?” she asked.
Angry Twitter users lashed out at Rowling, accusing her of being “transphobic.”
One disappointed user tweeted:
“I grew up as a trans child reading your books as an escape. I would often pick out names and characters to give to myself, before I ever felt comfortable in who I was. This decision, to support people that hate me, and want to do me harm. It brings me to tears… Why. Why?”
A British mum of a male-to-female transgender tweeted:
“My daughter, who is trans, is a big fan of yours. It breaks my hears to see you post something indicating that discrimination against her is perfectly fine behaviour for an employee.”
She added, “The world’s most credible medical orgs affirm trans people. Please catch up.”
Another Twitter user accused Rowling of using her massive platform to try and “destroy the left and ruin the lives of trans people.”
A third user wrote:
“There is literally no excuse at this point for not knowing that jk rowling is a transphobic who hates trans people, especially trans women.”
Some of Rowling’s 14.5 million followers threatened to boycott her books and movies.
