Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

JK Rowling's New Book Is About A Fantasy Series Creator Whose Fandom Deems Her Transphobic

JK Rowling's New Book Is About A Fantasy Series Creator Whose Fandom Deems Her Transphobic
Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images

J.K. Rowling just released a new book and from the looks of it, she's clearly taking the old adage to "write about what you know" very seriously.

People of color called out Rowling's racism for decades—almost since the moment her first bestseller hit book shelves—but it wasn't until Rowling started putting her bigotry on public display that the wider world took notice.


Her latest book, The Ink Black Heart, is the latest addition to her crime fiction series about private investigator Cormoran Strike that Rowling writes under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. It's about a beloved fantasy series creator whose fandom deems her transphobic.

The synopsis, included below, is very clear about this:

"When frantic, disheveled Edie Ledwell appears in the office begging to speak to her, private detective Robin Ellacott [Strike’s colleague] doesn’t know quite what to make of the situation."
"The co-creator of a popular cartoon, ‘The Ink Black Heart,’ Edie is being persecuted by a mysterious online figure who goes by the pseudonym of Anomie. Edie is desperate to uncover Anomie’s true identity."

The Edie character—which Rowling insists bears no similarities to her own life—is deemed as racist, ableist and transphobic by her viewers and experiences the dark side of internet fame as she faces death threats before she is actually killed, which kicks off the novel's main mystery.

If any of this sounds familiar, it might be because Rowling—best known as the author of the beloved Harry Potter children's fantasy series—has repeatedly come under fire for her racism, homophobia, ableism and anti-transgender views and her responses to proposed changes to gender recognition laws in the United Kingdom as well as her views on sex and gender.

Rowling's statements have divided feminists and Harry Potter fans, fueled debates on freedom of speech, academic freedom and cancel culture, and prompted support for transgender people from the literary, arts and culture sectors including the stars of the films based on her books.

Over the last few years, Rowling has argued against the inclusion of transgender women in women's restrooms and promoted stereotypes about transgender people, as when she included a cross-dressing killer in her previous Galbraith novel Troubled Blood.

Rowling's "Robert Galbraith" pseudonym is also controversial because it is also the name of the long-discredited psychiatrist Robert Galbraith Heath, who is considered the father of LGBTQ+ conversion therapy after he claimed to have converted a homosexual man to heterosexuality by putting deep brain stimulation electrodes into his brain and stimulating them whenever the patient was shown heterosexual pornographic material.

Twitter users quickly called out Rowling, mocking her and her book.




Rowling's views have proven so controversial that she declined to be part of HBO's Harry Potter reunion special that was broadcast in December 2021.

Emma Watson, who played Hermione Granger in the series, condemned Rowling's many transphobic comments, saying transgender people "deserve to live their lives without being constantly questioned or told they aren’t who they say they are."

Similarly, Daniel Radcliffe, who played the title character, responded to a lengthy essay Rowling published in defense of her anti-transgender views, stressing transgender women are women and statements to the contrary erase "the identity and dignity of transgender people and goes against all advice given by professional health care associations who have far more expertise on this subject matter."

Rowling walked the red carpet for the release of Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore earlier this year, but the film had a disappointing opening, grossing less than any film in the Potter franchise to date.

More from News/lgbtq

Screenshots of Will Thilly breakdancing
New York Post/YouTube

Guy Breakdances His Way Into Town Hall Meeting To Ask Why Taxes Went Up—And Becomes An Instant Legend

Cranford, New Jersey town council candidate Will Thilly went viral after dancing his way up to the podium at a recent town hall meeting to ask why property taxes in Cranford have gone "up so much."

Thilly's unique tax protest began when he danced his way up to the podium and continued to dance even after a Cranford Township official said, "Mr. Thilly, I started your time." People laughed when Thilly held up a finger to stop the official and continued to dance anyway.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Brian Kilmeade
Fox News

Fox News Host Apologizes After His Suggestion That Homeless People Be Euthanized Sparks Outrage

Fox and Friends host Brian Kilmeade was criticized for suggesting that homeless people with mental health issues get "involuntary lethal injection" after the murder of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska on a train in North Carolina—and was swiftly condemned for an insincere apology several days after the fact as many are calling for Fox News to terminate his contract.

Zarutska was stabbed to death at the East/West Boulevard station on the Lynx Blue Line in Charlotte last month; her killer, a homeless man with a history of mental health issues, has since been charged with first-degree murder.

Keep ReadingShow less
Sofía Vergara
Bryan Steffy/Getty Images

Sofía Vergara Reveals She Missed Presenting At The Emmys Due To 'Craziest' Medical Emergency

Almost everyone has a favorite television show they like to turn on at the end of a rough day or binge-watch for a bit of nostalgia, and most of us pretty frequently check out new shows to see if we can spot a favorite.

Needless to say, the Emmys award show is a huge deal every year, honoring all of the people involved in the projects that are currently gracing the small screen, and basically anyone who's anyone will attend.

Keep ReadingShow less
Rep. Nancy Mace
CNN

Nancy Mace Just Tried To Claim She's Never 'Dehumanized' Her Colleagues—And The Internet Brought The Receipts

South Carolina Republican Representative Nancy Mace was called out for hypocrisy after she claimed on CNN that Democrats in Congress have been "dehumanizing" Republicans, a move she would "never" do—despite her record of doing just that.

Speaking to anchor Katie Bolduan while the search for the suspect who killed far-right activist Charlie Kirk was ongoing, Mace objected to Bolduan's observation that she was using "us v. them" language, only saying that things are "very one-sided right now." She also suggested that the situation is so bad for her that she's actually afraid of "just walking out in public."

Keep ReadingShow less
A younger man stand on top of a mountain with his arms outreached and his face looking to the sky. It's a beautiful day and lakes and mountains are the backdrop.
Photo by Kyle Loftus on Unsplash

People Who Quit Their High-Paying Jobs For Happiness Explain How It Turned Out

Sometimes money isn't the goal.

It is a BIG goal for many.

Keep ReadingShow less