There has been a lot of talk about a recent ruling by the UK Supreme Court that states trans women are not legally recognized as women under the law. JK Rowling went on to celebrate this victory, but not everybody was happy with it or with her.
One person who was upset with JK Rowling because of her gloating over the UK Supreme Court ruling is Nicola Coughlan, from ‘Brigerton’. She went on to lash out at Rowling for being so rude.
The issue started when 59-year-old Rowling went on X and posted a picture of herself smoking a cigar and looking smug. She left the caption: “I love it when a plan comes together. #SupremeCourt #WomensRights.”
Since she posted the message, it has not gone favorably and many people have fired back, including Coughlan.
Coughlan was verbal in her response, creating an Instagram story and sharing a post from The Cut. That post was entitled ‘This Is a New Low for JK Rowling.’
Along with linking to the post, she added a comment. She said: “Keep your new Harry Potter lads. Wouldn’t touch it with a ten-foot pole.” She was speaking of the upcoming HBO adaptation of her books.
Coughlan was clearly upset with the ruling, even announcing a fundraiser for the charity, Not a Phrase which is in support of trans adults. She said that she would match donations up to $13,000. Within 24 hours, the campaign had brought in over $130,000.
She posted a video on Instagram, saying: “To see an already-marginalized community to be further attacked in law is really stomach-turning and disgusting, and these people celebrating it [are] more stomach-turning and disgusting.” She then urged her cisgender friends to ‘speak up and make your voice heard.’
She continued: “If you are a cisgender person who is an ally of a trans person, I think now is the time to just speak up and make your voice heard, and let your trans, nonbinary friends and just the community at large know that you’re there for them and will keep fighting for them.”
This isn’t the first time that Rowling has brought her own strong views against trans issues and it has backfired. She made some transphobic remarks in 2020 and many people began condemning what she said, including ‘Harry Potter’ stars Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint.
Rowling has also experienced some backlash from the general Internet community after making comments that appear to be anti-trans associated with the Supreme Court ruling.