JK Rowling denies having friendship with Fry after transphobia claim

Telegraph

6 hours ago

JK Rowling has denied ever being friends with Sir Stephen Fry after he claimed she had been ' radicalised by terfs '.
The comedian, writer and television presenter – who narrated all seven Harry Potter audiobooks – distanced himself from the author last week when he described her as a 'lost cause'.
In his first public criticism of Rowling, Fry alleged that she had 'kicked up a hornets' nest of transphobia'.
However, on Sunday night she hit back at the criticism, writing on X: 'It is a great mistake to assume that everyone who claims to have been a friend of mine was ever considered a friend by me.'
Rowling made the comment alongside a screenshot of a social media post by Jolyon Maugham, a British barrister, in which he said: 'Really creditable this, from Stephen Fry.
'I've spoken to so many of JKR's once friends who now despair at her privately but won't do so publicly, which is very much the British way and why nothing ever changes for the better. So, well done Stephen.'
Rowling has become a leading voice in the transgender debate.
She publicly celebrated the Supreme Court's signficant ruling that transgender women are not legally women, posting a picture of herself enjoying a drink and a cigar.
Fry became the latest high-profile figure to criticise her after well-documented fall-outs with original Harry Potter cast members Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint.
On the Show People podcast, Fry said: ' She has been radicalised, I fear, and it may be she has been radicalised by terfs but also by the vitriol that is thrown at her. It is unhelpful and only hardens her and will only continue to harden her, I am afraid.
'I am not saying that she [should] not be called out when she says things that are really cruel, wrong and mocking. She seems to be a lost cause for us.'
He claimed Rowling was 'mocking' LGBT+ people and vowed his support for the community, adding: 'She started to make these peculiar statements and had very strong, difficult views. I disagree profoundly with her on this subject.'
Fry said he was 'very happy' to go on the record and say he was 'really angry' about Rowling's 'crowing' over the Supreme Court ruling, but added that he had always enjoyed her company and previously found her 'charming, funny and interesting'.
In her most recent addition to the trans debate, Rowling praised a BBC newsreader for appearing to reject a gender-neutral phrase during a live broadcast.
She said Martine Croxall was now her 'new favourite' newsreader after she used the term 'pregnant people', before adding 'women' with emphasis and slightly rolling her eyes.