J.K. Rowling says she’s too rich to care what you think about her trans views, starts fight with Billy Bragg for saying what he thinks

Another day, another Rowling-related spat on social media over trans rights. 

“Having money is nothing to brag about, Joanne.”

 

‘It’ all kicked-off (again) on Twitter yesterday, as “gender critical” figurehead and “free speech” advocate J.K. Rowling seemingly took issue over a Tweet penned by music icon and activist Billy Bragg.

 

Rowling appeared to take umbrage after Brag used (October 13) his own Twitter feed to exercise some – you’ll never believe this – free speech.

 

We’ll break it down properly, but for fans of a summary, it went like this: 

J.K. Rowling: I don’t care if you don’t like what I think about trans people

Billy Bragg: I don’t like what you think

J.K. Rowling: Wait, not like that…

 

Earlier this week, we reported that Drag Race UK judge and Eurovision host Graham Norton was going viral for an interview where he shared his thoughts on cancel culture and the ‘trans debate’.

 

Norton said, basically, he felt the word ‘cancel’ wasn’t entirely correct, because often folk who have been “cancelled” are still doing interviews and appearing in national media. He suggested the word “accountability” would be a more fitting interpretation.

He then said, “It’s free speech, but not consequence-free. I’m aware of the things I say.”

 

Moving then to the debate over trans rights currently being played out daily on Twitter – a seemingly lawless alternate reality where some people exist permanently – Graham said:

“Talk to trans people. Talk to the parents of trans kids.”

“PLEASE can we have some experts”, he then says. “Can we rustle up some fu*king experts and talk to them”.

He, personally, didn’t mention J.K. Rowling – not even once.

 

Norton’s comments were well received on Twitter, as many LGBTQ+ folk are agreed that the voices often missing from the debate over trans rights are… actual trans people.

 

Musician, activist and long-standing LGBTQ+ ally Billy Bragg shared the interview, commending Graham’s stance on the matter, in a tweet where Rowling was mentioned but not @ tagged.

 

Bragg said Graham’s comments were “really good”, for “suggesting that the media talk directly to trans teens and their parents rather than merely amplifying the takes of a celebrity.”

 

Rowling, untagged in the original post, shared Billy’s post, accusing him (or Graham? Both??) of being “bearded men stepping confidently onto their soapboxes to define what a woman is and throw their support behind rape and death threats to those who dare disagree.”

 

To which Bragg replied: “Hard to think of anything that better illustrates Graham Norton’s point than the sight of someone with 13.9m followers reacting to a call for a fair hearing for trans teens and their parents by equating it to *checks notes* support for rape and death threats.”

 

As it all began to unfold, to the surprise of literally no one, Rowling subscribers who share similar views about trans people jumped immediately into the ring to have their say.

 

By “their say”, we of course mean calling anyone who supports trans people, disagrees with JK Rowling, or isn’t actively transphobic, names like: ‘groomer’, ‘paedophile’, ‘homophobic’, or ‘misogynistic’.

 

Enter the usual suspects:

 

Meanwhile, here is what other folk on Twitter had to say on the matter: 

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