JK Rowling says that people she worked with who publicly shunned her for her gender rights views secretly emailed or texted her to ‘check they were still friends’.

The 58-year-old Harry Potter author has previously been criticised for her staunch views on gender identity, but has always strongly denied accusations of transphobia.

And she says colleagues were eager to distance themselves from her with many condemning her after she supported Maya Forstater in 2019 – a researcher who took her bosses to an employment tribunal alleging that she had been discriminated against for her belief that people can’t change their sex.

Ms Rowling also made headlines in October  2022 when she showed her support for protests against Scotland’s Gender Recognition Reform Bill – a law proposed by then First Minister Nicola Sturgeon which would make it easier for people to change gender.

In a show of support for the protests, the author posted a picture of herself calling Sturgeon a ‘destroyer of women’s rights.

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JK Rowling says that people she worked with who publicly shunned her for her gender rights views secretly emailed or texted her to ‘check they were still friends’

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JK Rowling with Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson at the 2002 premiere of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. In recent years, the Harry Potter author has had very public falling outs with the stars of her award-winning series

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JK Rowling with Rupert Grint, Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson in 2001. In June 2020, in response to a comment from Ms Rowling about ‘people who menstruate’ Mr Radcliffe wrote a blog post against her for LGBTQ + charity The Trevor Project, in which he explicitly said: ‘Transgender women are women.’

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Ms Rowling also made headlines in October 2022 when she showed her support for protests against Scotland’s Gender Recognition Reform Bill. The author posted a picture of herself calling Sturgeon a ‘destroyer of women’s rights

Writing in The Times yesterday, Ms Rowling claims that her outspoken views on transgender rights has led people she worked with to ‘rush to distance themselves from me.’

She said: ‘People who’d worked with me rushed to distance themselves from me or to add their public condemnation of my blasphemous views (though I should add that many former and current colleagues have been staunchly supportive).

‘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.’

In recent years, the Harry Potter author has had very public falling outs with the stars of her award-winning series – including the titular character of Harry Potter: Daniel Radcliffe.

In June 2020, in response to a comment from Ms Rowling about ‘people who menstruate’ Mr Radcliffe wrote a blog post against her for LGBTQ+ charity The Trevor Project, in which he explicitly said: ‘Transgender women are women.’

He added: ‘Any statement to the contrary erases the identity and dignity of transgender people and goes against all advice given by professional health care associations who have far more expertise on this subject matter than either Jo (Rowling) or I.’

The 34-year-old actor also apologised to fans by saying: ‘To all the people who now feel that their experience of the books has been tarnished or diminished, I am deeply sorry for the pain these comments have caused you.’

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Emma Watson appeared to make a subtle dig against author JK Rowling during the 2022 BAFTA Film Awards

Emma Watson, who played Hermione Granger, was quick to back up her fellow cast member and speak out against Rowling’s stance.

She took to X (formerly Twitter), to write: ‘Trans people are who they say they are and deserve to live their lives without being constantly questioned or told they aren’t who they say they are.

‘I want my trans followers to know that I and so many other people around the world see you, respect you, and love you for who you are.’

The 33-year-old had also previously shared an image of herself in a t-shirt reading: ‘Trans rights are human rights.’

Then in March 2022, Ms Watson made a comment at the BAFTAs which were largely interpreted to be a dig at JK Rowling.

When she took to the stage to present an, the actress emphasised she was on the stage for ‘ALL the witches!’ Viewers at home saw the comment as a jibe at the Harry Potter creator, with one writing: ”I’m here for all the women’. Sly ‘lil dig at JK Rowling there, Emma Watson?’

As recently as April this year, Ms Rowling showed that the feud with the stars her books made famous was still very much alive.

Following the release of the Cass Review, written by Dr Hilary Cass, which found that teenagers in Britain have been allowed to change their gender based on ‘remarkably weak evidence,’ JK Rowling took to social media to suggest she won’t forgive Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson for their views.

Writing on X after the report was published, Ms Rowling said it was a ‘watershed’ moment and that it ‘lays bare the tragedy’ of allowing children to transition.

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In her opinion piece for The Times, Ms Rowling continued her attack against those who disagree with her views, by claiming to find their positions ‘truly despicable’

When someone claimed that Radcliffe and Watson owe her ‘a very public apology… safe in the knowledge that you will forgive them’, Rowling responded by saying: ‘Not safe, I’m afraid.’

In her opinion piece for The Times, Ms Rowling continued her attack against those who disagree with her views, by claiming to find their positions ‘truly despicable.’

The comments come after Rowling appeared to challenge Police Scotland to arrest her if her social media posts break new laws following the introduction of the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act.

The force later confirmed it would take no action against the author.

The Women Who Wouldn’t Wheesht is a collection of more than 30 essays, edited by Susan Dalgety and Lucy Hunter Blackburn.

It also features contributions from SNP MP Joanna Cherry and former prison governor Rhona Hotchkiss, who argues that ‘trans-identified male prisoners’ do not belong in women’s prisons.