No, J.K. Rowling isn’t dead but there’s a reason #RIPJKRowling is trending
On Monday, Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling began trending on Twitter for a reason she probably didn’t expect. The hashtag #RIPJKRowling became of the top hashtags on the social media platform on Sept. 14. The reason? Her new book.
The synopsis of her new crime novel Troubled Blood has been revealed and fans are not happy about it.
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Rowling has been in hot water over the past few months due to her controversial comments about the transgender community. Back in December, Rowling faced massive backlash for tweeting in support of Maya Forstater who lost her job for misgendering trans people.
Following this, she then began following and liking a number of anti-trans accounts and sentiments including “self-professed transphobe” Magdalen Berns on Twitter.
Then, back in June, she shared an article titled Opinion: Creating a more equal post-COVID-19 world for people who menstruate with a caption mocking the phrase “people who menstruate.”
“‘People who menstruate.’ I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?”
‘People who menstruate.’ I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?
Opinion: Creating a more equal post-COVID-19 world for people who menstruate https://t.co/cVpZxG7gaA
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) June 6, 2020
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More recently, Rowling returned her 2019 Kennedy Human Rights award after Kerry Kennedy denounced the author’s transgender comments.
“From her own words,” Kennedy said. “I take Rowling’s position to be that the sex one is assigned at birth is the primary and determinative factor of one’s gender, regardless of one’s gender identity- a position that I categorically reject.”
Now, Rowling is in even more hot water for her new book Troubled Blood. The book follows a private detective named Cormoran Strike as he investigates a cisgender male serial killer who wears women’s clothing to kill female victims.
Troubled Blood is the fifth book in Rowling’s Cormoran Strike series which she writes under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. As some may remember, Rowling portrays a trans character as being “unstable and aggressive” in the series’ second novel The Silkwork.
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The Telegraph recently reviewed Troubled Blood and notes that the majority of the 900-page book is about the investigation. However, readers will easily wonder about Rowling’s stance on trans issues while reading the book.
“The meat of the book is the investigation into a cold case: the disappearance of GP Margot Bamborough in 1974, thought to have been a victim of Dennis Creed, a transvestite serial killer,” the review says. “One wonders what critics of Rowling’s stance on trans issues will make of a book whose moral seems to be: never trust a man in a dress.”
Naturally, Troubled Blood has sparked criticism from fans and onlookers and led to #RIPJKRowling trending on Twitter. Despite the trend, however, Twitter clarified that the author is, in fact, still alive.
for me it’s how twitter had to specify that she’s actually alive AHAHAHAHAHA #RIPJKRowling pic.twitter.com/MkWWyXpDof
— ?️Lily, Fluffy Spider Wife?️ BLM (@SapphoMode) September 14, 2020
in memory of jk rowling. she ain’t dead, but she killed her own career by proudly hating trans people & no one would really miss her that much anyway #ripjkrowling pic.twitter.com/H6akxK0cVv
— patback (@memeforhire) September 14, 2020
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#RIPJKRowling she aint dead but her career is ? pic.twitter.com/45JReVZrRl
— daisy (@gxldenweasley) September 14, 2020
Imagine getting cancelled so hard, we have to pretend that you died ? #RIPJKRowling pic.twitter.com/Auw4kRTbxL
— Jeff Brutlag ?️? (@jeffbrutlag) September 14, 2020
tw // transphobia
this woman is unhinged and i mean that. the amount of damage with could cause to the trans community is fucking horrifying. #RIPJKRowling https://t.co/ocmUsce84n
— skye (@irisckp) September 14, 2020
me doing my speech at the funeral #RIPJKRowling pic.twitter.com/usUOVDPC9E
— katie (@HSERMlONE) September 14, 2020
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Last month, Rowling clarified her stance on the transgender community after returning her humanitarian award. In the statement, Rowling denied that she is transphobic.
Instead, she restated her controversial stance and cited that “a growing number” of “experts and whistleblowers” are “concerned about the huge rise in the number of girls wanting to transition.”
“Kerry Kennedy recently felt it necessary to publish a statement denouncing my views on RFKHR’s website,” Rowling said. “The statement incorrectly implied that I was transphobic. And that I am responsible for harm to trans people. As a longstanding donor to LGBT charities and a supporter of trans people’s right to live free of persecution, I absolutely refute the accusation that I hate trans people or wish them ill, or that standing up for the rights of women is wrong, discriminatory, or incites harm or violence to the trans community.”
What are your thoughts on J.K. Rowling? Let us know in the comments below.