JK Rowling
© AP Photo / Joel C RyanJ.K. Rowling
'This is nonsense. 99.9% of the world knows it's nonsense,' J.K. Rowling says, dismissing men masquerading as women as a form of abusive misogyny rooted in sexual paraphilia.

Harry Potter author and "gender critical" firebrand J.K. Rowling brought the hammer down on transgender activists, whom she criticized for their use of the word "transphobic," which is used to silence dissenters and remove free speech rights from anyone who disagrees with them.

"The word 'transphobic', as used here, does not mean an irrational fear or dislike of trans people," said Rowling in a fiery post responding to an interview by Byline TV with trans activist India Willoughby, in which the organization complained that X's Community Notes corrections are "deeply transphobic."

India Willoughby transphobia rowling
India Willoughby
"The community notes on our interview with [India Willoughby] about [J.K. Rowling] are deeply transphobic and prove that things have gone totally downhill on this site since [Elon Musk] took over. Dumpster fire," wrote the outlet.
India Willoughby transphobia rowling
© BylineTV/X
The note in question addressed Willoughby's interview, in which Byline claimed that a complaint the activist lodged against Rowling "could lead to [J.K. Rowling's] arrest." As cited by the Community Note, hate crimes require an underlying criminal offense motivated by hate. "But there is no criminal offence of referring to a male person (as India Willoughby is) as a man."

Rowling concurred with the Community Note and stated:
"The word 'transphobic', as used here, does not mean an irrational fear or dislike of trans people. It means refusing to use gender identity ideology's jargon, refusing to parrot its slogans, refusing to accept that sex doesn't matter when it comes to sport and single-sex spaces, refusing to believe a bearded heterosexual man becomes a lesbian when he declares himself one, and refusing to believe an abusive, misogynistic male is a woman because he likes to wear mini-dresses and pout in selfies."

"Like every other gender critical person I know, I believe everyone should be free to express themselves however they wish, dress however they please, call themselves whatever they want, sleep with any consenting adult who wishes to sleep with them, and that trans-identified people should have the same protections regarding employment, housing, freedom of speech and personal safety every other citizen is entitled to."
Describing what she referred to as the "dominant strain of trans activism," Rowling said that the activists assert that
"unless freedom of speech is removed from dissenters, unless trans-identified men are permitted to strip away women's rights, with particular reference to single-sex spaces like rape crisis centres, prison cells, hospital wards, changing rooms and public bathrooms, until we all bow down to their neo-religion, accept their pseudo-scientific claims and embrace their circular reasoning, trans people are more oppressed, and more at risk, than any other group in society."
"This is nonsense. 99.9% of the world knows it's nonsense. The emperor is naked. He might be wearing lipstick, but his balls are swinging in plain sight," concluded the author.