Many literary figures and actors have come to the defense of J.K. Rowling after she faced backlash for transphobic comments.
Over 50 actors, writers, playwrights and journalists -- including Ian McEwan, Lionel Shriver and Graham Linehan -- banded together to publish a letter in the Sunday Times in response to "hate speech" that the author has received. The letter is thought to be a reaction to the #RIPJKROWLING hashtag that trended after Rowling's recent comments on the transgender community. Contributors to the letter saw it as "insidious, authoritarian and misogynistic."
The letter emphasized Rowling's honor and compassion, and accused the hashtag and social media of promoting hate against women. "We are signing this letter in the hope that, if more people stand up against the targeting of women online, we might at least make it less acceptable to engage in it or profit from it," the letter reads. It ended by wishing Rowling well and clarifying that the 50 signers stand in solidarity with her.
Rowling has been heavily criticized for her comments and views about transgender people, with many viewing the statements as transphobic, especially after the release of her new book, Troubled Blood, in which a male serial killer dresses as a woman to lure female victims. Many have linked the novel's plot to Rowling's comments and her recent essay, where it was suggested that opening bathrooms and dressing rooms to trans women would allow any man to enter if he so wished.
Source: Independent, Sunday Times