This week, author Stephen King talked to the Daily Beast about why Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling apparently blocked him on Twitter.
It all began after King was asked if he believes trans women are women. He replied, "Yes. Trans women are women."
@CodySkinnerFan Yes. Trans women are women.
Rowling saw this, blocked King, and even deleted an earlier tweet that praised him.
“Jo canceled me,” the 73-year-old bestselling horror writer said. “She sorta blocked me and all that."
"Here’s the thing: She is welcome to her opinion," King said. "That’s the way that the world works. If she thinks that trans women are dangerous, or that trans women are somehow not women, or whatever problem she has with it — the idea that someone 'masquerading' as a woman is going to assault a 'real' woman in the toilet — if she believes all those things, she has a right to her opinion.”
"I just felt that her belief was, in my opinion, wrong," he said. "We have differing opinions, but that’s life."
This isn't the first time J.K. Rowling's "opinion" has caused backlash. In recent years, she's made multiple comments that people have said are anti-trans.
In 2019 she tweeted this, defending the concept of "sex":
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
In June 2020, she took issue with 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? Opinion: Creating a more equal post-COVID-19 world for people who menstruate https://t.co/cVpZxG7gaA
And shortly after, she wrote an essay doubling down on her views on gender and sex, writing that she's "deeply concerned about the consequences of the current trans activism."
GLAAD has denounced the author, writing, "Rowling continues to align herself with an ideology which willfully distorts facts about gender identity and people who are trans."
JK Rowling continues to align herself with an ideology which willfully distorts facts about gender identity and people who are trans. In 2020, there is no excuse for targeting trans people.