J.K. Rowling created a division across the Harry Potter fanbase after she was accused of being transphobic. The accusations were based on comments made by Rowling. Now, however, it looks like J.K. Rowling has been reported to police over more recent allegations of transphobia.
The allegations were made by broadcaster India Willoughby. According to Willoughby, during an interview with Byline TV, she claimed that Rowling was reported to Northumbria Police for repeatedly misgendering her online.
Here’s what Willoughby shared:
“J.K. Rowling has definitely committed a crime. I’m legally a woman. She knows I’m a woman, and she called me a man,” Willoughby stated. “It’s a protected characteristic, and that is a breach of both the Equalities Act and the Gender Recognition Act. She’s tweeted that out to 14 million followers.”
Willoughby continued to explain that Rowling was reported to police as a result:
“I have reported J.K. Rowling to the police for what she said, which I don’t know if that’s going to be treated as a hate crime, malicious communications — but it’s a cut-and-dry offense, as far as I’m concerned.”
Rowling shared her own response to the matter and allegations of transphobia:
Some time ago, lawyers advised me that not only did I have a clearly winnable case against India Willoughby for defamation, but that India’s obsessive targeting of me over the past few years may meet the legal threshold for harassment. 1/5 https://t.co/kMSMBWO7gm
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) March 6, 2024
Northumbria Police made a statement, saying:
“On Monday, March 4, we received a complaint about a post on social media. While we recognise the upset this may have caused, the post was reviewed and did not meet the criminal threshold. The complainant has been updated of this.”
Rowling seems confident that she has “a clearly winnable cast against India Willoughby for defamation.”
Rowling also shared the following statement regarding Willoughby:
“Aware as I am that it’s an offence to lie to law enforcement, I’ll simply have to explain to the police that, in my view, India is a classic example of the male narcissist who lives in a state of perpetual rage that he can’t compel women to take him at his own valuation.”
Stay tuned to ScreenGeek for any additional updates as we have them. For now, however, it certainly does add a new layer to the controversy surrounding J.K. Rowling. And at a time when Warner Bros. Discovery is planning to reboot the Harry Potter brand for the small screen as a Max television series, no less.