Rowling “profoundly misunderstood” in trans row

Harry Potter author JK Rowling has said people who have accused her of being transphobic have “profoundly misunderstood” her.

Rowling, who is one of the biggest-selling authors of all time, has been accused of being transphobic ever since she wrote on her website: “When you throw open the doors of bathrooms and changing rooms to any man who believes or feels he’s a woman… you open the door to any and all men who wish to come inside.”

 he post was widely viewed by some as being transphobic, and her comments were also criticised by Harry Potter stars Daniel Radcliffe. Rupert Grint and Emma Watson.

She has said hat she respects “every trans person’s right to live any way that feels authentic and comfortable to them.”

In a new podcast, The Witch Trials of JK Rowling, the author revealed that she had never set out to upset anyone and that she had received threats of violence and “I have had people coming to my house where my kids live, and I’ve had my address posted online. I’ve had what the police, anyway, would regard as a credible threat.”

She said that she respected every trans person’s right to live any way that feels “authentic and comfortable” to them.

She went on to say that “what has interested me in the last 10 years and certainly in the last few years, particularly on social media: ‘You’ve ruined your legacy, oh, you could have been beloved forever but you chose to say this’ and I think you could not have misunderstood me more profoundly.

“I do not walk around my house thinking about my legacy. What a pompous way to live your life — walking around thinking about what my legacy will be. Whatever. I’ll be dead. I care about now. I care about the living.”