JK Rowling latest news: Trans YouTuber apologises for contributing to new podcast about Harry Potter author
‘I never meant to upset anyone’: JK Rowling opens up on trans controversy in podcast teaser
JK Rowling is set to give a rare interview addressing her controversial remarks on transgender rights.
In an upcoming seven episode podcast entitled The Witch Trials by JK Rowling, the Harry Potter author sits down with US author Megan Phelps-Roper at her home in Edinburgh.
Phelps-Roper is the granddaughter of Fred Phelps – pastor of the notorious Westboro Baptist Church. After leaving the church in 2012, Phelps-Roper became a prominent critic of its philosophy and practices.
Podcast host Free Press describes The Witch Trials by JK Rowlingwill be released February 21 as an “audio documentary exploring some of the most contentious conflicts of our time through the life and career of the world’s most prolific author”.
“I never wanted to upset anyone. I didn’t feel uncomfortable getting off my pedestal, though,” Rowling says in the trailer.
“What has particularly interested me on social media in recent years [is when fans say], “You ruined your legacy. Oh you could have been loved forever but you chose to say this.’ And I’m like, ‘You couldn’t have misunderstood me any deeper.'”
Trans YouTuber Natalie Wynn, known as ContraPoints, has apologized for agreeing to be interviewed for the podcast.
Follow the latest updates below:
JK Rowling is the subject of a new podcast that will interview the Harry Potter author about her views on the transgender community.
Podcast host Free Press describes The Witch Trials by JK Rowlingwill be released February 21 as an “audio documentary exploring some of the most contentious conflicts of our time through the life and career of the world’s most prolific author”.
“I never wanted to upset anyone. I didn’t feel uncomfortable getting off my pedestal, though,” Rowling says in the trailer.
Here is a timeline of the author’s controversial comments on trans rights.
Roisin O’ConnorFebruary 21, 2023 05:00
What Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe said about Rowling’s views on transgender issues
“Transgender women are women,” he wrote. “Any statement to the contrary erases the identity and dignity of transgender people and contradicts all advice from professional healthcare organizations, who have far more expertise on the subject than either [Rowling] or I.
“It is clear that we must do more to support transgender and non-binary people, not invalidate their identities and not cause further harm.”
Roisin O’ConnorFebruary 21, 2023 04:00
JK Rowling said she agreed to the interview because she hoped it would be “constructive”.
Rowling wrote on Twitter last week: “Last year I received a long, thoughtful letter from @Meganphelps inviting me to participate in a face-to-face, in-depth discussion with her on the topics that have interested me over the past few years.
“Megan suggested bringing in other voices and looking at the bigger picture and bringing in her own unique perspective as a former fundamentalist who has devoted her life to difficult conversations over the past decade.
“I agreed to sit down with Megan because after reading her wonderful book, unfollowI thought we could both have a real, interesting, two-way conversation that might prove constructive.”
Roisin O’ConnorFebruary 21, 2023 03:00
Mark Hamill recently defended himself for liking a post by JK Rowling
The Star Wars actor defended himself after becoming the center of fan-Irish for liking a tweet from JK Rowling that some users called “transphobic”.
Read the full story below…
Ellie HarrisonFebruary 21, 2023 1:00 am
An editorial in The New York Times defending the author’s views reignited a battle of words between the newspaper and its staff over reporting on transgender issues.
Staff and contributors penned a letter this week criticizing the publication’s reporting.
The letter addressed to The times‘, Deputy Editor-in-Chief for Standards, said signatories had “serious concerns” about what they described as “editorial bias” in their reporting.
Read the whole story here:
Roisin O’ConnorFebruary 20, 2023 11:00 p.m
ContraPoints distances itself from the podcast
Trans YouTuber Natalie Wynn, known as ContraPoints, has apologized for agreeing to be interviewed for the podcast. “I agreed,” she wrote on Twitter. “That was a serious misjudgment.”
(counterpoints)
Ellie HarrisonFebruary 20, 2023 10:00 p.m
Here is a timeline of the controversial comments the author has made on trans rights:
Roisin O’ConnorFebruary 20, 2023 9:00 p.m
Megan Phelps-Roper says the new podcast “was never intended to vindicate the author.”
Phelps-Roper gave an interview on the new podcast, in which she said: “That was never a defense of JK Rowling. It was never intended to justify them.
“It’s an attempt to understand what’s happening, and to do that you need the perspectives of so many other people – on all sides – because the issues are so complex.”
Read the full story below…
Ellie HarrisonFebruary 20, 2023 8:00 p.m
What Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe said about Rowling’s views on transgender issues
“Transgender women are women,” he wrote. “Any statement to the contrary erases the identity and dignity of transgender people and contradicts all advice from professional healthcare organizations, who have far more expertise on the subject than either [Rowling] or I.
“It is clear that we must do more to support transgender and non-binary people, not invalidate their identities and not cause further harm.”
Ellie HarrisonFebruary 20, 2023 7:00 p.m
What we know about the podcast host
Phelps-Roper is best known for escaping “America’s Most Hated Family”. She grew up reading Rowling’s books but was warned by her family that the author would go to hell for supporting gay rights.
Ellie HarrisonFebruary 20, 2023 6:00 p.m