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What to know about J.K. Rowling’s new podcast and history of harmful anti-trans comments

 


For years, J.K. Rowling, one of the best-selling authors of all time, has made inflammatory comments about transgender people, particularly trans women, using dehumanizing language and baselessly accusing them of harming cisgender women. Her words have disappointed legions of "Harry Potter" fans and even the stars who brought Rowling's books to life.

Now, a podcast called "The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling" indicates she'll discuss the reaction to those anti-trans comments -- in addition to discussing her journey as an author -- with host Megan Phelps-Roper, a high-profile former member of the anti-LGBTQ Westboro Baptist Church. Even before its release, the podcast was met with criticism by LGBTQ advocates for seemingly siding with Rowling based on the title alone.

Here's what you need to know about the new podcast, with its first two episodes released Tuesday, as well as Rowling's history of harmful comments.

The first episodes mostly don't mention Rowling's anti-trans comments

Rowling announced her participation in the podcast on Valentine's Day, the same day an audio trailer was released with the author saying she had been "misunderstood." Ahead of the podcast's release, host Phelps-Roper told The Times of London that the series was not meant to "vindicate" Rowling.

For most of the podcast's first two episodes, Phelps-Roper and Rowling didn't directly address the author's anti-trans comments. Rowling's remark about being "misunderstood" appeared in its entirety, but it was more within the context of her legacy and what her critics have said about how she could have remained beloved if she hadn't made certain comments on social media.

"You could not have misunderstood me more profoundly," Rowling said in the podcast's first episode. "I do not walk around my house thinking about my legacy."

"What a pompous way to live your life, walk around thinking, 'what will my legacy be?' Whatever, I'll be dead. I care about now."

Over the course of the episode, Rowling told Phelps-Roper that she'd had a miscarriage shortly before she married her first husband. She also said her first husband abused her and showed up to a home where she and their daughter lived after she left him.

The second episode recounted how many groups, particularly those made up of conservative Christians, accused the "Harry Potter" series of promoting witchcraft and fought to ban it. Phelps-Roper mentioned that today, many of the most frequently banned books are LGBTQ stories. The episode ends with comments from Rowling's critics who condemned her anti-trans comments, which neither Rowling nor Phelps-Roper directly mentioned.

A representative for Rowling told CNN the author would not comment further on her involvement in the podcast. CNN has also reached out to Phelps-Roper for comment, as well as The Free Press, the company releasing the podcast.

Rowling's views on transgender people first came to light in 2018

In March 2018, Rowling liked a tweet that misgendered trans women, calling them "men in dresses" -- a spokesperson for the author said it was a "middle-aged moment" and an accident.

After Rowling's "like" came to light, journalist Katelyn Burns outlined other moments that seemed to indicate Rowling supported anti-trans views. In a piece for Them, Burns wrote that Rowling had previously liked a tweet for an anti-trans essay on Medium. She also said that in the book "The Silkworm," written under pseudonym Robert Galbraith, Rowling used an "insulting trope" to describe a character who was a trans woman, depicting her as aggressive and emphasizing her anatomy.

In December 2019, Rowling publicly supported Maya Forstater, a former UK think tank employee who lost her job after she criticized UK government plans to allow residents to self-select their gender on identification documents. Forstater has said she believes that transgender women who have undergone gender reassignment surgery are men, regardless of their identification documents. She brought a claim against her company, accusing it of discrimination. She lost her case in an initial employment tribunal.

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