TV satirist’s claim that there is ‘no evidence’ of any threat to girls’ safety rubbished by Harry Potter author

John OliverJohn Oliver made the comments on his show Last Week Tonight Credit: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images

JK Rowling has accused John Oliver, the late night TV satirist, of “spouting bull—-” after he said trans athletes posed no danger to women.

The British-born broadcaster, who hosts Last Week Tonight on HBO, waded into the controversy on Sunday night.

“There are vanishingly few trans girls competing in high schools anywhere.

“Even if there were more, trans kids like all kids, vary in athletic ability and there is no evidence they pose any threat to safety or fairness. It is very weird for you to be so focused on this subject.”

The Harry Potter author replied on X: “Nothing about this feels good, because John Oliver generously gave his time for my charity Lumos and I liked him very much when I met him, but God knows, if you ever need an example of motivated reasoning and confirmation bias, this video’s for you.

“An undoubtedly intelligent person spouts absolute bulls— to support something he wants to be true, but isn’t.”

JK Rowling


JK Rowling has frequently spoken out about the impact transgender athletes can  have on women’s sport Credit: Tolga Akmen/AFP via Getty Images

Rowling added: “‘If you want to tell the world you’re happy to watch females suffer injury, humiliation and the loss of sporting opportunities to bolster an elitist post-modern ideology embraced by a minute fraction of the world’s population, fair enough; you’re allowed your opinion.

“But if you’ve just told girls they don’t deserve fair sport, maybe rethink using all too real and common sexual predation against young women as a punchline for your ‘edgy’ closing joke.”

The 59-year-old author is outspoken in her views on gender identity.

“I’d come to believe that the socio-political movement insisting ‘trans women are women’ was neither kind nor tolerant, but in fact profoundly misogynistic, regressive, dangerous in some of its objectives and nakedly authoritarian in its tactics,” she wrote in an essay in The Women Who Wouldn’t Wheesht, which was published earlier this year.

“Ultimately, I spoke up because I’d have felt ashamed for the rest of my days if I hadn’t. If I feel any regret at all, it’s that I didn’t speak far sooner.”

The Telegraph has approached Oliver for comment.