It’s a controversial few years for JK Rowling (Picture: FilmMagic)
JK Rowling isn’t concerned with the state of her reputation in light of the controversy surrounding her comments on the transgender community and gender issues.
Over the past few years, the bestselling author has locked horns with people on social media and been denounced by most of the Harry Potter cast after being accused of transphobia, which she has denied.
In 2020, Rowling, 57, expressed her views on an article which referred to ‘people who menstruate’, questioning why the term ‘women’ was not used.
Her comments led to a wave of backlash with many branding the writer transphobic and explaining that it’s not just cis-gender women who menstruate.
Many who were once fans of Rowling’s work have now distanced themselves from the author, but she’s now revealed that her legacy isn’t a worry for her.
‘I never set out to upset anyone. However, I was not uncomfortable with getting off my pedestal,’ she stated in an episode of new podcast The Witch Trials of JK Rowling.
Rowling has denied being transphobic and said she didn’t meant to cause ‘upset’ (Picture: Getty Images)
She continued: ‘And what has interested me in the last 10 years and certainly in the last few years, particularly on social media “You’ve ruined your legacy, oh you could have been beloved forever but you chose to say this” and I think you could not have misunderstood me more profoundly.
‘I do not walk around my house thinking about my legacy, what a pompous way to live your life walking around thinking about what my legacy will be. Whatever. I’ll be dead. I care about now. I care about the living.’
In another episode, Rowling – who also writes under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith – spoke to author, activist and the podcast host, Megan Phelps-Roper, about the ‘clear presence’ of good and evil in the Harry Potter series.
Rowling explained: ‘That is such a deep question and it goes to the heart of Potter and it goes to the heart of much of my world view.
‘There’s a huge appeal, and I try to show this in the Potter books, to black-and-white thinking. It’s the easiest place to be and in many ways, it’s the safest place to be. If you take an all-or-nothing position on anything, you will definitely find comrades, you will easily find a community – “I’ve sworn allegiance to this one simple idea”.
‘What I tried to show in the Potter books and what I feel very strongly myself, we should mistrust ourselves the most when we are certain. And we should question ourselves most when we receive a rush of adrenaline by doing or saying something.
‘Many people mistake that rush of adrenaline for the voice of conscience. In my world view, conscience speaks in a very small and inconvenient voice, and it’s normally saying to you “Think again, look more deeply, consider this”.’
In recent months, Rowling has been supported by her celebrity pals, including Succession actor Brian Cox, who said the writer is ‘entitled to her opinion’, while actor Stephen Fry stood by his friendship with the author.
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The Harry Potter author has been at the centre of a storm since 2020.
