Scandal ahead of the premiere: J.K. Rowling is once again accused of homophobia and bullying

Writer J.K. Rowling has once again found herself at the center of a public scandal after a spat on the social network X. This time, the author of Harry Potter mocked the appearance of her critic, after which he became the target of mass harassment from her supporters.

The discussion was sparked by Rowling’s post criticizing the British human rights organization Stonewall UK. The writer spoke of the organization’s “maximalist position” on transgender rights, reacting to an interview with Stonewall executive director Simon Blake publication The Guardian.

A user under the nickname @pup_shay — a 38-year-old gay man who describes himself as a former fan of Rowling’s work. He accused the writer of portraying trans women as predators and using gay people to advance her own narrative.

Instead of addressing the substance of Rowling’s response, she drew attention to her opponent’s profile photo, in which he is pictured wearing glasses and a pup play mask. The writer ironically advised him to switch to contact lenses and called his appearance “the stupidest” of all she had ever seen. Journalists and social media users quickly noticed the irony: the author mocked a man for wearing glasses, even though glasses are a key feature of the image of her main literary hero.

After Rowling’s post, a user named Shay was subjected to fierce harassment. Numerous insults began pouring in at him, including homophobic, racist, and Islamophobic remarks, as well as direct death threats.

Later, Shay released a statement noting that the influx of aggressive users began only after the famous writer publicly singled out his profile. He also stressed how easily people on social media turn to cruelty and harassment when given a direct cue from a public figure.

The incident occurred amid preparations for a two-part BBC documentary about Rowling’s life and public controversies. The first part of the film will cover her success and the creation of the "Harry Potter" world, while the second will focus on the reputational scandals that began after the publication of her widely discussed 2020 essay.

In addition to accusations of transphobia, critics increasingly accuse the author of covert homophobia. As an example, they point to the Dumbledore story: after revealing the character to be gay only after the books were released, Rowling avoided addressing his orientation in the text for a long time, and later reduced Dumbledore and Grindelwald’s relationship to hypersexualized descriptions in supplementary materials.