J.K. Rowling has shared some of the horrific online abuse she has received after sharing her views on the transgender community.
In recent years, the 55-year-old Harry Potter author has become known less for her literary works, and more for her tendency to speak out against trans issues such as the right to use the restroom that corresponds with your gender rather than your sex.
In her most recent comments on the subject, Rowling told her 14 million Twitter followers on Monday, July 19: "Now [that] hundreds of trans activists have threatened to beat, rape, assassinate and bomb me, I’ve realized that this movement poses no risk to women whatsoever."
Just hours before detailing some of the threats she's received, she had screenshotted a vile comment directed at her from a troll who wrote: "I wish you a very nice pipebomb in [your] mailbox."
She captioned the screengrab: "To be fair when you can’t get a woman sacked, arrested, or dropped by her publisher, and canceling her only made her book sales go up, there’s really only one place to go."
The British author came under fire after a tweet she posted last summer when she mocked the trans-inclusive term "people who menstruate".
The idea behind the term is that not all women have periods, for instance, trans women. And some men, as well as non-binary people, can have periods too.
However, Rowling took umbrage with the term on Twitter, sharing a link to an article that used it. She then implied that only cisgender women are able to menstruate.
She wrote: "'People who menstruate.' I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?"
Naturally, in a world where trans people are being killed at alarming rates and are being discriminated against in various other ways, Rowling's flippant remark sparked outrage.
Even the main trio from the franchise that made her the success that she is today, Harry Potter, publicly condemned her tweet.
Harry Potter himself, Daniel Radcliffe said in a statement: "Transgender women are women. Any statement to the contrary erases the identity and dignity of transgender people and goes against all advice given by professional health care associations who have far more expertise on this subject matter than either Jo or I."
Emma Watson, who played Hermione Granger in the film series, wrote: "Trans people are who they say they are and deserve to live their lives without being constantly questioned or told they aren’t who they say they are.
"I want my trans followers to know that I and so many other people around the world see you, respect you, and love you for who you are."
Finally, Ron Weasley actor Rupert Grint said in a statement: "I firmly stand with the trans community. Trans women are women. Trans men are men. We should all be entitled to live with love and without judgment."
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