Billy Bragg has hit back at JK Rowling after she appeared to accuse him of supporting “rape and death theats” by backing Graham Norton’s view on transgender rights.
On Thursday (13 October), Bragg posted a tweet praising TV host Graham Norton for his comments about so-called “cancel culture” while attending Cheltenham Literature Festival. Norton also commented on the media’s coverage of the debate surrounding trans rights.
Reposting a clip of Nortan’s talk, Bragg wrote: “Norton really good here on John Cleese.
“Telling him that cancel culture is just accountability, and JK Rowling, suggesting that the media talk directly to trans teens and their parents rather than merely amplifying the takes of a celebrity.”
Rowling was quick to respond to Bragg, writing: “Very much enjoying the recent spate of 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.”
She added: “You may mock, but takes real bravery to come out as an Old Testament prophet.”
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.”
Rowling hit back, saying: “Hard to think of anything that better illustrates misogyny than men complaining that a woman has a view on woman’s rights.”
Bragg then told the Harry Potter author that he did not take issue with her having her own view, but was instead complaining that “you conflate my view with support for rape and death threats”.
“I have never expressed such sentiments and if you had any self-respect you would apologise for making such a blatantly inflammatory accusation,” he said.
Rowling responded to Bragg by saying that he’s “compared feminists to Nazi eugenicists”.
“You agreed with @grahnort that cancel culture is merely ‘accountability’. Do you believe threats of rape and murder are acceptable ‘accountability’?” she questioned.
Amid her exchange with Bragg, Rowling also responded to a fan who asked her how she sleeps at night, suggesting she had estranged a large number of her readers due to her views on trans rights.
Rowling replied: “I read my most recent royalty cheques and find the pain goes away pretty quickly.”
The author recently found herself involved in a high-profile argument with author Joanne Harris, after she claimed Harris didn’t support her when she received death threats over her views on transgender people.
The controversy around Rowling’s stance on trans rights was sparked in June 2020, after she called out an article’s use of the phrase “people who menstruate”. She wrote; “I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?”
A number of public figures, including many of the stars of the Harry Potter film franchise, condemned her comments as “anti-trans” and “transphobic”. Rowling has denied that she is transphobic.
