Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

JK Rowling Called Out After Sarcastically Claiming She Identifies As A 'Reclining Sofa'

JK Rowling
Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images

The 'Harry Potter' author seemed to deliberately misunderstand a post asking anti-trans activists to 'define a chair' as metaphor for how difficult it can be to accurately define things.



JK Rowling is at it again, and this time she's ranting about... furniture.

Rowling spent the better part of the weekend raging on X, aka Twitter, after misunderstanding an old internet joke about chairs, which is used to criticize transphobes' constant demands that people "define what a woman is."

As a thought exercise, internet user Avery Edison asked Irish anti-trans activist Graham Linehan to "define a chair" in a way that "includes all things which are chairs and excludes all things which aren’t.”

Screenshot of internet discussion about the definition of a chair

Reddit

Linehan responded that a chair is "a separate seat for one person, typically with a back and four legs," and another internet user immediately responded with a picture of a horse labeled "chair" to illustrate what a fool's errand this line of thought really is, whether applied to furniture or gender.

That is, if a horse can fit the definition of a chair, trans people can fit the definition of a man or woman. Case closed.

Suffice to say, JK Rowling has never heard of this discussion, let alone understood the point. Because when it was referenced on Twitter this weekend, she took it literally and soon went into full meltdown mode.

In response to someone who reference the "define a chair" argument, Rowling tweeted:

"You might think you’re progressive, but have you ever unironically compared women to chairs?"

Rowling very clearly thought this joke of hers was hilarious, because she made it multiple times in multiple ways.

To one fellow online TERF, she "joked":

"I identify as a faux-leather reclineable sofa with cup holders in the arms. Yesterday I was mistaken for a chaise longue."

In another, she "joked" about being "misfurnitured," presumably a reference to being misgendered, after saying she "identifies as a reclining sofa."

Hilarious, perhaps, but only if the chair metaphor flew over your head in the first place, as it clearly seemed to for Rowling, who as a reminder is a writer of such preeminence it has made her a literal billionaire.

Rowling immediately became an object of mockery on Twitter for somehow not understanding how metaphors work.

Others referenced Rowling's past Twitter controversies, like the time she insisted that transgender people were not targeted during the Holocaust, which is absolutely, categorically false.

Nothing like one of the greatest writers of a generation being unable to understand a basic analogy. Never change, Joanne. Never change.

More from News/lgbtq

Harry Styles; Pope Leo
Michael Buckner/Variety/Getty Images; Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Harry Styles Hilariously Reveals Why He Was Randomly At Pope Leo's Conclave Election

At the end of 2022, Harry Styles wrapped up a two-year tour that led to a much-needed break to rest his body and mind. But that break turned into an almost three-year hiatus, leaving his fans to miss him and worry about whether he would return to the stage.

The former One Direction singer did not just stay at home in bed watching rom-coms, however.

Keep ReadingShow less
Connor Storrie; Hudson Williams
Harold Feng/Getty Images

The 'Heated Rivalry' Stars Got To Carry Olympic Torch Through Italy—And Fans Are Cheering

Life seems to be imitating art for Heated Rivalry stars Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams.

Don't get too excited—this is not an announcement that the pair are a real couple now. But they are getting to bask in one of the highest honors for an athlete: carrying the Olympic torch.

Keep ReadingShow less
Sydney Sweeney
Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for W Magazine

Sydney Sweeney Could Face Charges After Hanging Bras On Hollywood Sign Without Permission

Legendary and controversial showman P.T. Barnum has been credited with saying, "Any publicity is good publicity." Of course, Barnum was operating in the 1800s when he could shape the narrative and kill damaging news.

In the digital age, publicity can quickly reach a global audience. Any missteps or poor choices are out there before damage control can be done.

Keep ReadingShow less
Glenn Close; Donald Trump
Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images; Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Glenn Close Offers Dire Warning To Trump Over His Regime's 'Inhumanity' In Powerful Video

Film legend Glenn Close shared her feelings on President Donald Trump and his regime's "inhumanity" in a viral video on Instagram, saying she felt "compelled" to speak out in the wake of the murder of 37-year-old ICU nurse Alex Pretti by ICE agents on Saturday in Minneapolis.

Close—best known for starring in such classics as Fatal Attraction and who recently received raves for her work on Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery—condemned the "cold-blooded murder of American citizens" and warned Trump that "there will be hell to pay" as more and more people rise up against his leadership.

Keep ReadingShow less
Gavin Newsom; JD Vance; Tom Cotton
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images; Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images; Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Gavin Newsom Epically Rips JD Vance And MAGA Senator Over Their Hot Takes On Minneapolis Shootings

California Governor Gavin Newsom criticized Vice President JD Vance and Arkansas Republican Senator Tom Cotton after they both posted heartless remarks about the recent killings of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti by ICE agents in Minneapolis.

Earlier this month, ICE agent Jonathan Ross killed Good in her car. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin claimed Good “weaponized her vehicle, attempting to run over our law enforcement officers in an attempt to kill them.”

Keep ReadingShow less