"If you're capable of feeling shame..." - JK Rowling and newsreader India Willoughby go head-to-head on social media

JK Rowling's spat with India Willoughby, a prominent British transgender broadcaster, took a turn after she criticized Willoughby for saying that murdered Wayne Couzens would have "loved" the Supreme Court gender ruling.

The UK's highest court, in an April 16 ruling, mentioned that the terms 'woman' and 's*x' in the Equality Act 2010 'refer to a biological woman and biological s*x.' With this ruling, transgender women with a gender recognition certificate cannot enter single-s*x spaces such as toilets or changing rooms if 'proportionate.' Rowling has been among the few celebrities celebrating the ruling, while Willoughby took to X on April 19 to criticize it, saying,

"I'll tell you who would have LOVED the new 'Prove You're A Woman' ruling from the UK Supreme Court: Wayne Couzens. The policeman who murdered Sarah Everard. Agree @PatsyeStevenson?"

The Harry Potter writer, while responding to the tweet on April 25, mentioned

"Rapists and woman-killers tend not to 'love' legal restrictions on where and how they can access vulnerable females. If you're capable of feeling shame, India, now would be the moment."

After the ruling was announced, Rowling took to X to note that she's "so proud" of the Scottish women who brought the case against the Scottish government, arguing that s*x-based protections should only apply to those that were determined female at birth.

More about JK Rowling's longtime spat with India Willoughby

JK Rowling's recent April 25 response isn't the first time she has clashed horns with India Willoughby. Their spat initially began when Rowling, in a March 2024 tweet, referred to India as "a man reveling in his misogynistic performance," stating that Willoughby was "cosplaying a misogynistic male fantasy of what a woman is." Her tweet was in response to a social media clip that questioned if Willoughby should be given access to the men's locker room.

Willoughby, who legally recognizes herself as a woman, reported Rowling to Northumbria police, alleging that the Harry Potter author's words constitute a hate crime. However, the Northumbria police concluded that Rowling's comments did not satisfy the criminal threshold of a hate crime.

JK Rowling, while defending her words, claimed that having "gender-critical" views does not constitute a hate crime. Chilean-American actor Pedro Pascal condemned JK Rowling for her reaction to the Supreme Court ruling, calling her a "heinous loser."

Pascal responded to a comment that reported the words of activist Tariq Ra'ouf in an Instagram video, where he asked people to boycott Rowling's work on Harry Potter.

Trending

Pascal liked the post and commented, "Awful, disgusting s*** is exactly right. Heinous LOSER behavior."

Ra'ouf acknowledged Pascal's saying that he felt "immense pain" after noticing silence from other celebrities.

×

Was this article helpful?

Thank You for feedback