Harry Potter author JK Rowling has unsurprisingly come out in support of the International Olympic Committee’s decision to ban transgender women from competing in women’s Olympic events, but since 2017 Rowling has regularly come under fire for sharing anti-transgender views on social media.
“Today’s ruling by the IOC marks a welcome return to fair sport for women and girls, but I will never forget the Paris 2024 scandal. People who consider themselves extremely noble and progressive I publicly supported a man hitting a woman,” Rowling wrote on
Rowling criticized the 2024 Olympics for allowing Cruyff to box other women. Kerif was disqualified from the Women’s World Championship a year ago after failing a gender eligibility test due to elevated testosterone levels in her body.
“What better picture could represent our new men’s rights movement?” Rowling wrote about X while sharing a photo of a tearful Angela Carini and Kerif trying to console her after Italy’s Angela Carini withdrew from the match and defeated her opponent in 46 seconds during the 2024 Olympics. “It’s the sound of a man who knows he’s protected by a misogynistic sports world reveling in the suffering of a woman who’s been hit in the head and had her life’s ambitions dashed.”
The Olympics supported the decision to allow Kerif, who was born female, to compete in the women’s boxing competition, saying: “Everyone competing in the women’s category complies with the eligibility rules. They are listed as female in their passports; that is the case and they are listed as female.”
On March 26, the IOC announced that transgender women will be barred from competing in future Olympic events. The organization released the following statement (via The Associated Press): “Eligibility to participate in women’s category events at the Olympic Games and other IOC events, including individual and team events, is currently limited to biological women.”
Rowling has frequently used X to criticize transgender women who compete in women’s sports. She infamously got into a social media spat with HBO’s “Last Week Tonight” host John Oliver over the issue, calling him a “definitely intelligent guy” who “spouts complete bullshit” after he insisted there was “no evidence that[transgender athletes]pose a threat to safety or equity.”
After Rowling celebrated the IOC’s decision to ban transgender athletes from competing, praise quickly followed for HBO’s “Harry Potter” reboot series, whose first trailer was released the day before news of the Olympics broke. Rowling was involved in the development of the series and consulted with studio executives during production.
About 20 minutes after praising the Olympic ban, Rowling responded to fans: “It’s going to be incredible. I’m very happy.”
