J.K. Rowling.
Image: X/@jk_rowling “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling has revealed she regrets not speaking out “far sooner” with her views on transgender rights , in a book essay extract published Wednesday, May 29.
Rowling, 58, has been embroiled in controversy and incurred the wrath of activists and “Harry Potter” film stars in recent years over her stance that biological sex is immutable. She denies being transphobic. In the excerpt published in The Times from a forthcoming book, “The Women Who Wouldn’t Wheesht,” featuring essays from various Scottish women, she details her reasons for talking about the contentious subject.
“Ultimately, I spoke up because I’d have felt ashamed for the rest of my days if I hadn’t. If I feel any regret at all, it’s that I didn’t speak far sooner,” Rowling wrote. The Edinburgh-based writer said she eventually began to give her opinions after initially keeping quiet because her loved ones “were begging me not to speak.
” Her gender-critical views have made her the darling of some feminists and are also credited with helping to open up larger debates on free speech and a so-called “cancel culture.” But they have received strong criticism from transgender rights activists and others. Actor Daniel Radcliffe, who played Harry Potter in the film franchise of the best-selling books, was among those to publicly disassociate himself from her.
This month, he said his row with Rowling was “really sad.” Rowling r.