Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

JK Rowling's New Book Is About A Fantasy Series Creator Whose Fandom Deems Her Transphobic

JK Rowling's New Book Is About A Fantasy Series Creator Whose Fandom Deems Her Transphobic
Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images

J.K. Rowling just released a new book and from the looks of it, she's clearly taking the old adage to "write about what you know" very seriously.

People of color called out Rowling's racism for decades—almost since the moment her first bestseller hit book shelves—but it wasn't until Rowling started putting her bigotry on public display that the wider world took notice.


Her latest book, The Ink Black Heart, is the latest addition to her crime fiction series about private investigator Cormoran Strike that Rowling writes under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. It's about a beloved fantasy series creator whose fandom deems her transphobic.

The synopsis, included below, is very clear about this:

"When frantic, disheveled Edie Ledwell appears in the office begging to speak to her, private detective Robin Ellacott [Strike’s colleague] doesn’t know quite what to make of the situation."
"The co-creator of a popular cartoon, ‘The Ink Black Heart,’ Edie is being persecuted by a mysterious online figure who goes by the pseudonym of Anomie. Edie is desperate to uncover Anomie’s true identity."

The Edie character—which Rowling insists bears no similarities to her own life—is deemed as racist, ableist and transphobic by her viewers and experiences the dark side of internet fame as she faces death threats before she is actually killed, which kicks off the novel's main mystery.

If any of this sounds familiar, it might be because Rowling—best known as the author of the beloved Harry Potter children's fantasy series—has repeatedly come under fire for her racism, homophobia, ableism and anti-transgender views and her responses to proposed changes to gender recognition laws in the United Kingdom as well as her views on sex and gender.

Rowling's statements have divided feminists and Harry Potter fans, fueled debates on freedom of speech, academic freedom and cancel culture, and prompted support for transgender people from the literary, arts and culture sectors including the stars of the films based on her books.

Over the last few years, Rowling has argued against the inclusion of transgender women in women's restrooms and promoted stereotypes about transgender people, as when she included a cross-dressing killer in her previous Galbraith novel Troubled Blood.

Rowling's "Robert Galbraith" pseudonym is also controversial because it is also the name of the long-discredited psychiatrist Robert Galbraith Heath, who is considered the father of LGBTQ+ conversion therapy after he claimed to have converted a homosexual man to heterosexuality by putting deep brain stimulation electrodes into his brain and stimulating them whenever the patient was shown heterosexual pornographic material.

Twitter users quickly called out Rowling, mocking her and her book.




Rowling's views have proven so controversial that she declined to be part of HBO's Harry Potter reunion special that was broadcast in December 2021.

Emma Watson, who played Hermione Granger in the series, condemned Rowling's many transphobic comments, saying transgender people "deserve to live their lives without being constantly questioned or told they aren’t who they say they are."

Similarly, Daniel Radcliffe, who played the title character, responded to a lengthy essay Rowling published in defense of her anti-transgender views, stressing transgender women are women and statements to the contrary erase "the identity and dignity of transgender people and goes against all advice given by professional health care associations who have far more expertise on this subject matter."

Rowling walked the red carpet for the release of Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore earlier this year, but the film had a disappointing opening, grossing less than any film in the Potter franchise to date.

More from News/lgbtq

Kid Rock
Todd Kirkland/Getty Images

Kid Rock Dragged After Donning A Truly Over-The-Top Outfit For His White House Visit

Singer Kid Rock was slammed for wearing a loud patriotic costume inside the Oval Office as Republican President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday against ticket scalping.

The rocker's outfit consisted of a red, white, and blue jacket emblazoned with two eagles facing each other above the American flag with the number 250, a nod to America's upcoming 250th anniversary, and white stars on his sleeves.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Bill Cassidy
CNBC

MAGA Senator Just Said The Quiet Part Out Loud With Epic Freudian Slip About Medicare

Louisiana Republican Senator Bill Cassidy was widely mocked following his inconvenient slip of the tongue during a CNBC interview as he mused about finding ways to "cut" Medicare before quickly correcting himself.

The exchange occurred after host Rebecca Quick pressed Louisiana Republican and former physician Bill Cassidy on how his party intended to fund the “trillion-dollar tax cuts” sought by President Donald Trump.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Tim Sheehy
CNN

GOP Senator Gets Blunt Reality Check After Comparing Trump Tariff 'Pain' To Home Renovation

Montana Republican Senator Tim Sheehy was criticized after he tried to compare the "short-term pain" of President Donald Trump's tariffs to home renovation, a claim so ridiculous that CNN's Kaitlan Collins quickly pushed back on the analogy.

Trump has repeatedly referred to April 2 as “Liberation Day,” pledging to impose tariffs—taxes on imports—to reduce U.S. reliance on foreign goods. He has framed these tariffs as “reciprocal,” aiming to match the duties other nations place on American exports.

Keep ReadingShow less
Susan Crawford; Elon Musk
Scott Olson/Getty Images (left and right)

Liberal Wisconsin Judge Calls Out Elon Musk In Victory Speech—And It's Everything

Liberal judge Susan Crawford called out billionaire Elon Musk in her victory speech after winning a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, basking in successfully beating her Republican opponent Brad Schimel and ensuring that the nonpartisan court’s narrow 4-3 liberal majority remains intact despite Musk's efforts to sway the race.

Musk fueled the high-stakes race, having poured more than $20 million into supporting Schimel, according to state campaign records. That includes $3 million to the state Republican Party—$2 million of which was donated just last week. Due to state election laws, large contributions must be funneled through political parties before reaching candidates.

Keep ReadingShow less

People Describe The Worst 'Bonus' They've Ever Gotten At Work

Most of us have worked at one problematic workplace, with reasons ranging from toxic coworkers to terrible bosses to unlivable pay. Sometimes, it feels like a joke that the employees are even being paid at all!

But the biggest joke of all might be the end-of-year bonus, or lack thereof. They're at times so laughable, they take the cake for horrible work conditions, or are quite literally, a slice of cake.

Keep ReadingShow less