Harry Potter author JK Rowling has reportedly donated £70,000 to an anti-trans group’s long-running battle over the legal definition of the word “woman”.
Rowling reportedly pledged the money to a crowdfunding campaign on behalf of For Women Scotland (FWS), which raised a legal challenge over the definition of the word “women” in the 2018 Gender Representation on Public Boards Act.
The legislation aims to ensure public boards have a 50 per cent women gender balance in non-executive member positions, and it includes a definition of the word “woman” that is inclusive of trans women who have a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC).
FWS argued including trans women in this definition would impact women’s rights and expressed concerns about wider implications for single-sex spaces.
The anti-trans pressure group lost an appeal at the Court of Session in November.
On Friday (16 February), FWS announced that they had been granted permission to appeal the decision to the UK Supreme Court. The group quickly set up a CrowdJustice fundraiser to cover legal costs of the appeal.
Shortly after the crowdfunding campaign was launched, JK Rowling donated £70,000 to FWS, according to reports by the Times, the Telegraph, Scottish Daily Express and the Daily Mail.
JK Rowling reportedly donated £70,000 to For Women Scotland’s crowdfunder for its legal battle over the legal definition of the word “woman”. (Getty)
The outlets linked a donation of that sum from a user identified as “JK” to the Harry Potter author. The donation was accompanied by a post that said: “You know how proud I am to know you. Thank you for all your hard work and perseverance. This is truly a historic case.”
PinkNews reached out to representatives of JK Rowling, who said that they do not comment on her personal donations. The representative added that the author is not making an official comment.
FWS wrote on X/Twitter that the group was “uncharacteristically struck dumb” after donations to the campaign, and identified Rowling as a donor.
A the time of writing, the crowdfunder has raised more than £133,400 from over 2,000 individuals. FWS wrote on the campaign that it believed it’s “important that ‘sex’ is clarified as referring to biology” for “women to have full rights and protection”.
Rowling has faced considerable backlash for her comments on the trans community, including from cast members of both the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts film franchises.
She first came under scrutiny in 2019 when she showed support for gender critical campaigner Maya Forstater. A year later, in 2020, Rowling criticised an op-ed that used the phrase “people who menstruated”.
In the years since, she’s continued to double down on her beliefs despite push back from LGBTQ+ and trans people as well as allies.
Rowling claimed in a 2023 podcast series, The Witch Trials of JK Rowling, that she “never set out to upset anyone” with her views, and she’s been “profoundly” misunderstood.
News
Explore Ed Sheeran’s £3.75 Million ‘Sheeran-ville’ Mansion: The House Has Its Own Pub!
The Shape of You singer has properties in Suffolk, London and beyond © Lionel Hahn,Getty He’s a multiple award-winning, platinum-selling and stadium-filling artist everyone knows and loves, so it’s no wonder that the hugely successful Ed Sheeran has managed to channel his…
Ed Sheeran shares very rare look inside eccentric home with newborn baby
The hitmaker lives in Suffolk Bad Habits singer Ed Sheeran lives a quiet life in a village in Suffolk and while he rarely shares looks inside his family residence, he delighted us all on Wednesday with a relaxed home video. The clip was…
SHOCK: The shadow justice secretary is reported to have said she agrees with JK Rowling that “biological ѕєχ is real and immutable”.
Labour’s shadow justice secretary ‘agrees’ with JK Rowling’s ‘gender-critical’ views Labour justice secretary Shabana Mahmood says she ‘agrees’ with JK Rowling over ‘gender-critical’ views (Nicola Tree/Getty Images) During a speech on Monday (22 April), Shabana Mahmood reportedly backed so-called gender-critical…
“VIDEO: Travis Kelce’s Ex Kayla Nicole Turns Heads in Revealing Dress at Netflix Premiere”
Travis Kelce’s ex-girlfriend Kayla Nicole was turning heads at a recent Netflix premiere this weekend. Nicole, who dated the Kansas City Chiefs tight end for several years before they called it off in 2022, has been forced to watch him…
Giannis Antetokounmpo gives Bucks a reality check while discussing team’s ceiling – “Gotta get out of the 1st round”
Giannis Antetokounmpo gives Bucks a reality check while discussing team’s ceiling (Picture credit: Imagn) Giannis Antetokounmpo gave the Milwaukee Bucks a reality check about their ceiling this season. The Bucks haven’t made it past the first round for two consecutive seasons, despite…
“VIDEO: Patrick Mahomes Faces Backlash for Comments on Rashee Rice’s Injury”
Fans are not happy with what Patrick Mahomes had to say about Chiefs teammate Rashee Rice after causing an injury to the second-year wide receiver on Sunday. Patrick Mahomes and Rashee Rice (Photos via CBS & @Rachel__Nichols/X)Mahomes and Rice were…
End of content
No more pages to load