JK Rowling has claimed the BBC "can no longer be trusted to report truthfully or impartially on matters relating to sex and gender" after the broadcaster failed to report that a women-only housing development in West London will accept trans women.
The Harry Potter author criticised the BBC's coverage of Brook House in Acton, which omitted that the 102-flat development would be open to trans women with gender recognition certificates.
Writing on X, Rowling stated: "It's not women only. Men will be accommodated there if they say they're women.
"Our national broadcaster can no longer be trusted to report truthfully or impartially on matters relating to sex, preferring to push its own luxury beliefs on the unenlightened masses."
It’s not women only. Men will be accommodated there if they say they’re women. Our national broadcaster can no longer be trusted to report truthfully or impartially on matters relating to sex, preferring to push its own luxury beliefs on the unenlightened masses. https://t.co/32YbhOSNoi
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) June 18, 2025
Brook House, set to open next summer, will provide 102 affordable rented flats designed for survivors of domestic abuse and women struggling to find homes. The development is managed by Women's Pioneer Housing, founded by suffragists in 1920.
A spokesperson for Women's Pioneer Housing confirmed: "Our policy is to accept women if they have a gender recognition certificate."
The housing association stated the building would be open to anyone who has a "gender recognition certificate legally declaring them female".
Flats would also be available to trans women who "intend to undergo, are undergoing or have undergone gender reassignment", as well as "non-binary people who meet the aforementioned criteria".
JK Rowling celebrated the Supreme Court's ruling earlier this year
X
The development will house a mixture of women from Ealing council's waiting list and residents put forward by Women's Pioneer Housing.
The BBC published an online report about the women-only tower block but did not mention that the flats would be open to trans women and non-binary people, regardless of biological sex. This omission prompted Rowling's criticism on social media.
Following her decision to call out the BBC on social media, her followers soon flooded the replies section of the post with their praise.
"One of the reasons I've not only stopped consuming news from @BBCNews, but also stopped watching all @BBC channels and stopped paying for the TV licence altogether," one follower replied. "They say they're impartial, but they're not... When it comes to this, they're more of a religious media outlet!"
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A second echoed: "The BBC stopped just reporting the facts a very long time ago. All media is now coloured by opinion. But the BBCs habit of proclaiming impartiality places them amongst the worst offenders."
"Thanks so much Joanne pointing this out. I stopped funding the BBC and last year. I wish I'd have realised their tactics earlier. Better late than never," a third commented before a fourth bleakly put: "The UK is sunk in so many ways. Sad." (sic)
This is the latest in a series of disputes between Rowling and the BBC over transgender coverage.
Two years ago, the BBC received more than 100 complaints after Radio 4 PM presenter Evan Davis failed to challenge accusations against Rowling.
JK Rowling has been an outspoken advocate for biological women's spaces
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Stacey Henley, a trans woman and editor-in-chief of The Gamer, had accused the author of pushing "transphobia" and having "a campaign against trans people".
The BBC was forced to issue an apology, saying "we should have challenged the claims more directly".
The Supreme Court confirmed in April that it would be legal to restrict access to the tower block based on biological sex rather than gender identity.
Despite this ruling, Women's Pioneer Housing maintains its policy of accepting trans women with appropriate documentation.
The BBC can 'no longer be trusted' according to JK Rowling
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Ealing Council Leader Peter Mason said: "The 102 new flats being built at Brook House will provide a safe, secure, genuinely affordable place to call home for some of the hundreds of women on the waiting list for social housing in our borough."
Rowling has also previously criticised the BBC over its sports coverage after it emerged that Alex Kay-Jelski, its head of sport, had blocked women's rights campaigners Martina Navratilova and Sharron Davies on social media.
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