Rowling's Rift With Harry Potter Stars Might Be Irreparable

The rift between JK Rowling and actors she watched grow up might be a lasting one as the Harry Potter author has indicated she won't be quick to forgive those who opposed her much-publicized views on the transgender community. Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson were among those to defend trans people and they received mention in an X thread Wednesday as Rowling discussed an independent review of gender identity services for minors, per the Independent. The Cass Review, commissioned by England's National Health Service, found a lack of evidence showing puberty blockers are safely used to "arrest puberty," warned of the risks of "unregulated treatment" for gender dysphoria, and stated "for most young people, a medical pathway will not be the best way to manage their gender-related distress."

Rowling said it was "a watershed moment" and "the laying bare of a tragedy." She described pediatrician Dr. Hilary Cass' work as "the most robust review of the medical evidence for transitioning children that's ever been conducted" but observed "committed ideologues are doubling down." A user responded that he was waiting for Radcliffe and Watson to apologize to Rowling "safe in the knowledge that you will forgive them." But Rowling made no promise of forgiveness. "Not safe, I'm afraid," responded the author. "Celebs who cosied up to a movement intent on eroding women's hard-won rights and who used their platforms to cheer on the transitioning of minors can save their apologies for traumatised detransitioners and vulnerable women reliant on single sex spaces."

In other posts, Rowling said "young people have been experimented on, left infertile and in pain" and "thousands are complicit, not just medics, but the celebrity mouthpieces, unquestioning media and cynical corporations." She added that "gender dysphoria is a real and very painful condition" but said she did not believe "that each of us has a nebulous 'gender identity' that may or might not match our sexed bodies." Weeks ago, NHS announced it would no longer routinely prescribe puberty blockers, which should only be given to minors in clinical trials, per the BBC. The American College of Pediatricians, a conservative advocacy group, is in line with this view, noting "there is not a single long-term study to demonstrate the safety or efficacy of puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and surgeries for transgender-believing youth." (Rowling has had some defenders.)