JK Rowling trans row: Downing Street condemns gender activists

Downing Street has criticised the targeting of JK Rowling by trans activists.

The Harry Potter author’s address was posted online by activists who posed outside her home with “Trans liberation now” signs.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson's official spokesman.
Hollie Adams

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “I don’t think any individual should be targeted in that way.

“We believe that everyone has the right to be treated with dignity and respect and that people are able to share their views as long as it is done in that fashion.”

Rowling has attracted criticism for her views on gender identity, tweeting that she has received “so many death threats I could paper the house with them”.

After a trio of trans activists posted an image outside her home where her address could clearly be seen, the writer shared a series of tweets stating she will not stop speaking out even after her doxxing experience.

Rowling wrote: “Last Friday, my family’s address was posted on Twitter by three activist actors who took pictures of themselves in front of our house, carefully positioning themselves to ensure that our address was visible.

“I have to assume that @IAmGeorgiaFrost, @hollywstars and @Richard_Energy_ thought doxxing me would intimidate me out of speaking up for women’s sex-based rights.

“They should have reflected on the fact that I’ve now received so many death threats I could paper the house with them, and I haven’t stopped speaking out. Perhaps – and I’m just throwing this out there – the best way to prove your movement isn’t a threat to women is to stop stalking, harassing and threatening us.”

In the picture shared online, the trio outside the author’s home were holding signs which read “Don’t be a cissy”, “Trans liberation now” and “Trans rights are human rights”.

The Twitter accounts of Richard Energy, Georgia Frost and Holly Stars have since been deleted.

Rowling, 56, who also writes crime novels under the pen name Robert Galbraith, thanked Police Scotland, and also those who reported the image to Twitter Support for their “kindness and decency” which “made all the difference” to her and her family.

JK Rowling
@jk_rowling - Twitter

She added: “Over the last few years I’ve watched, appalled, as women like Allison Bailey, Raquel Sanchez, Marion Miller, Rosie Duffield, Joanna Cherry, Julie Bindel, Rosa Freedman, Kathleen Stock and many, many others, including women who have no public profile but who’ve contacted me to relate their experiences, have been subject to campaigns of intimidation which range from being hounded on social media, the targeting of their employers, all the way up to doxxing and direct threats of violence, including rape.

“None of these women are protected in the way I am. They and their families have been put into a state of fear and distress for no other reason than that they refuse to uncritically accept that the socio-political concept of gender identity should replace that of sex.”

In the past, the author has been criticised by Harry Potter stars including Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint, who were set to reunite for a TV special 20 years after the first film was screened.

A Police Scotland spokesman said: “We are aware of this incident and police inquiries are ongoing.”

The author vehemently denies she is transphobic.