JK Rowling fires back as Harry Potter author accused of 'not understanding adjectives' in fiery 'trans women' row

Ms Rowling has also openly opposed the notion of self-identifying gender, and her views have seen her ostracised by many in the creative arts world, notably several Harry Potter stars.

However, Ms Rowling has remained firm in her stance, and the latest debate regarding her views began earlier this week when she responded to a trans woman on social media who claimed no "other women have had a problem" with them using female bathrooms.

Ms Rowling replied: "If you were actually a girl or a woman, you'd know exactly why nobody's challenged you in the bathroom."

A different social media user, who is also a trans woman, hit back at the author, arguing: "That’s easy Joanne, It’s because trans women are actually women no matter what we look like."

Ms Rowling made clear her stance on the issue: "Women are women, no matter what they look like. Men are men, even if they think they look like women."

One of Ms Rowling's supporters then waded into the conversation, asking why the word "trans" was used as a prefix.

The social media user replied by comparing the term to that of an adjective, such as describing a "tall woman" as "tall".

"If a tall woman was short, she'd still be a woman. If a trans women wasn't trans, he'd be a man," Ms Rowling fired back. (sic)

In the latest development to the debate, Ms Rowling has been criticised by another X user who questioned the Harry Potter author's grammar.

"Incredibly funny that an author doesn’t understand how adjectives work," the social media user argued.

‘Trans woman’ is a compound noun. By definition, it means ‘man who identifies as a woman.’ If the person in question was actually a woman, ‘trans’ wouldn’t be there.

— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) January 1, 2026

Ms Rowling stood firm, commenting: "‘Trans woman’ is a compound noun. By definition, it means ‘man who identifies as a woman.’

"If the person in question was actually a woman, ‘trans’ wouldn’t be there."

This particular retort from Ms Rowling has since gone viral on social media, with many of her supporters applauding the explanation.

Notting Hill actor James Dreyfus was among those who praised Ms Rowling for her stance.

"What’s 'incredibly funny' is waking up to the marvellous sight of JKR giving this piffling dweeb a public & rather monumental verbal thrashing…Happy New Year," he penned.

Elsewhere, Australian businesswoman and social media entrepreneur Sall Grover echoed: "Incredibly funny that anyone thought they knew more about grammar than the most successful writer in history, but people will proudly make fools of themselves in order to demand that men are women."

This isn't the first time the author has found herself in the news over the past few weeks.

Last week, Ms Rowling called on politicians to treat threats from the trans activist group Bash Back with greater seriousness following revelations that the organisation is plotting attacks on offices belonging to senior government figures.

The Mail on Sunday reported that the group has the Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, and Health Secretary Wes Streeting among its intended targets.

Sharing the newspaper's story, the 60-year-old labelled Bash Back as part of a "totalitarian movement."

"Who knows, now that trans activists aren't only stalking, harassing, doxxing, threatening and physically assaulting women, our politicians might finally take the violence that's such a key feature of this totalitarian movement seriously," Ms Rowling wrote.