J.K. Rowling says that people who claim that she has "ruined" her own "legacy" have misunderstood her.
The author of the Harry Potter novels has become known in recent years for making transphobic comments online, and is speaking about the controversy in a new podcast series titled "The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling."
In a trailer for the show, Rowling said that she "never set out to upset anyone" but had different thoughts regarding her legacy than some fans.
"What has interested me over the last 10 years, certainly in the last few years, the last two, three years, particularly on social media... 'You've ruined your legacy. Oh, you could have been beloved forever, but you chose to say this,'" Rowling said, "And I think, 'You could not have misunderstood me more profoundly.'"
The podcast is hosted by Megan Phelps-Roper, who left the Westboro Baptist Church at age 26. It's published by former New York Times op-ed writer and editor Bari Weiss' media company, The Free Press.
In June 2020, Rowling mocked an article referring to "people who menstruate."
"'People who menstruate.' I'm sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?" In subsequent tweets, she doubled down on her anti-trans and trans-exclusionary-radical-feminist (TERF) ideology, in which she argued that transgender activism is "erasing the concept of sex."
"If sex isn't real, there's no same-sex attraction. If sex isn't real, the lived reality of women globally is erased. I know and love trans people, but erasing the concept of sex removes the ability of many to meaningfully discuss their lives. It isn't hate to speak the truth," she tweeted.
Controversy around Rowling came to a head later that month after she published an essay defending transphobic comments she had made in the past. Some of Rowling's claims, like there being an "explosion in young women wishing to transition," aren't supported by evidence, as Insider previously reported.
Several Harry Potter stars, including Emma Watson and Daniel Radcliffe, denounced her comments.
But the author's reputation has bled into Harry Potter-associated properties that Rowling herself isn't involved in. Most recently, "Hogwarts Legacy," the open-world video game released on February 10 that takes place in the Harry Potter universe, has sustained backlash since it was first announced in September 2020.
The podcast, according to a post from Phelps-Roper published on The Free Press, includes interviews with Rowling and others on "all sides of this conflict." It premieres on February 21.
