London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Jul 30, 2025

J.K. Rowling Came Out In Support Of A Woman Who Was Fired For Her Tweets About Transgender Women

J.K. Rowling Came Out In Support Of A Woman Who Was Fired For Her Tweets About Transgender Women

The Harry Potter author is facing intense criticism for backing Maya Forstater, who opposes the UK government’s proposal to allow people to change their legal gender. The case has driven #IStandWithMa

Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling on Thursday came out in support of a woman who was fired for her tweets saying that transgender women should not be legally recognized.

"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. But force women out of their jobs for stating that sex is real? #IStandWithMaya #ThisIsNotADrill," Rowling said to her 14.6 million followers.

The “Maya” in Rowling’s tweet is Maya Forstater, a tax expert who lost her job after posting a series of tweets in opposition to the UK government’s proposed plan to reform the Gender Recognition Act to allow people to change their legal gender.

On Wednesday, a London employment tribunal upheld Forstater’s former employer’s decision to not renew her employment contract, ruling that her belief, as she stated in court, that sex is “a material reality which should not be conflated with ‘gender’ or ‘gender identity’” is not a protected philosophical belief. Therefore, the court ruled, her company’s decision to not consider her for renewed employment for holding this belief was not discrimination.

Employment judge James Tayler described Forstater’s beliefs in the ruling as “absolutist” and “incompatible with human dignity and the fundamental rights of others.”

Forstater’s contract for her position as visiting fellow at the Center for Global Development (CGD) ended in December 2018 and was not renewed following concern from her colleagues about her “transphobic” and “offensive and exclusionary” language on Twitter.

In a blog post about what she described as her "firing," Forstater identified some specific tweets that led to her being contacted by CGD’s human resources department:



In one tweet, Forstater referenced Rachel Dolezal, the white former president of the Spokane, Washington, chapter of the NAACP who was passing as black.


Following the ruling, Forstater wrote on Twitter that she was struggling “to express the shock and disbelief” she felt as she read the decision.

“This judgment removes women’s rights and the right to freedom of belief and speech. It gives judicial license for women and men who speak up for objective truth and clear debate to be subject to aggression, bullying, no-platforming and economic punishment."

BuzzFeed News has reached out to Forstater's legal team for comment.

Rowling’s alignment with Forstater sparked immediate controversy, and the author’s name was a trending Twitter topic worldwide.

Trending with Rowling’s name was the word “TERF,” an acronym for trans-exclusionary radical feminist. TERFs -or, as they prefer to be known, gender critical feminists, since some see the word “TERF” as a slur or even hate speech -do not believe that transgender women should be considered women for the purposes of shared spaces and political discussion.

Some Harry Potter fans responded to Rowling saying that her tweet went against everything she wrote about in the series.


A number of fans have also shared this 2018 tweet from actor Emma Watson, who portrayed Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter movies, wearing a shirt reading “trans rights are human rights.”

BuzzFeed News has reached out to Watson's representatives for comment.


Rowling was also criticized by prominent LGBTQ and human rights advocacy organizations.

In a statement to BuzzFeed News, GLAAD said that following the author's tweet, they had "reached out to Rowling's PR team and offered to have an off-the-record conversation involving members of the trans community, to which a publicist from Rowling’s team declined."

Although this is the first time that Rowling has made her beliefs on gender identity known, her Twitter activity over the past few years has led some fans to wonder if she held the view that transgender women shouldn’t be considered women.

The author has liked tweets linking to stories that argue transgender women shouldn’t be housed in women’s prisons due to rape fears.


representative for the author told BuzzFeed News that “there won’t be any comment from J.K. Rowling or her team on this issue.”


 


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Former Judge Charged After Drunk Driving Crash Kills Comedian in Brazil
Jeff Bezos hasn’t paid a dollar in taxes for decades. He makes billions and pays $0 in taxes, LEGALLY
China Increases Use of Exit Bans Amid Rising U.S. Tensions
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Procter & Gamble to Raise U.S. Prices to Offset One‑Billion‑Dollar Tariff Cost
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
Botswana Seeks Controlling Stake in De Beers as Anglo American Prepares Exit
Trump Administration Proposes Repeal of Obama‑Era Endangerment Finding, Dismantling Regulatory Basis for CO₂ Emissions Limits
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
A family has been arrested in the UK for displaying the British flag
Mel Gibson refuses to work with Robert De Niro, saying, "Keep that woke clown away from me."
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
The British propaganda channel BBC News lies again.
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
×