'Harry Potter' Fans Slam J.K. Rowling After New Transphobic Tweet

J.K. Rowling made another transphobic tweet on Sunday, sending the whole social media platform into an uproar. The Harry Potter author posted an op-ed from The Sunday Times, where writer John Boothman criticized the Scottish government for a new policy that allows people to self-identify their gender upon arrest. Rowling added her own dramatic caption: "War is Peace. Freedom is Slavery. Ignorance is Strength. The Penised Individual Who Raped You Is a Woman."

Both Rowling's tweet and Boothman's article represented logical leaps without basis in fact that have been used to demonize trans people for years. Boothman complained that under the new policy, police will document arrested people by the gender they identify with, even if they haven't gone through the legal gender change process. He speculated that this could theoretically mean a person with a penis could sexually assault a person with a vagina and then "self-identify" as a woman upon their arrest in an attempt to go to a women's prison – a scenario that remains unprecedented and statistically unlikely. In general, this kind of fear-mongering is more often used to restrict transgender rights than to protect cisgender women.

Extensive reporting has been done to combat this predatory myth pushed by Rowling here and in other instances – including this 2016 report by Time. The bottom line is that granting transgender people rights and basic recognition such as access to the public restroom of their choice has never been accompanied by a commensurate rise in crime, whereas restricting their rights has been associated with crimes against transgender people – one of the most disproportionately harassed groups in the world.

Critics let Rowling know about all of this once again Sunday, although she has been informed hundreds of times by now. Many left sad comments saying that they love Rowling's work and once respected her, but now cannot support her in good conscience. Others laughed at the author for obsessing over an issue that is unlikely ever to affect her rather than just enjoying her massive wealth and success. Read on for some of the top comments sent Rowling's way this weekend.