JK Rowling set to review Nicola Sturgeon book after ex-SNP leader blasts 'toxic' debate on gender
JK Rowling is set to publish her own review of Nicola Sturgeon's political memoir after the ex-SNP leader claimed the author had helped create a "toxic" climate around Scotland's gender reform debate.
The multimillionaire Harry Potter writer has been scathing of the gender policies pursued by the former first minister and her supporters.
In an interview with the BBC today, Sturgeon claimed Rowling helped trigger a wave of "vile" abuse which left her fearing for her safety.
The MSP said the author's decision to wear a T-shirt branding her a 'destroyer of women's rights' marked the point at which "rational debate" on the issue became "impossible" and "any hope of finding common ground disappeared".
Rowling shared a selfie on Twitter in October 2022 in solidarity with a For Women Scotland protest outside Holyrood against the Scottish Government's planned Gender Recognition Reform (GRR) Bill.
"I obviously do not know what her intentions were,' Sturgeon said, "but it seems blindingly obvious that a stunt like that was never going to elevate the debate or illuminate the issues at the heart of it.'
She added the episode "resulted in more abuse, of a much more vile nature, than I had ever encountered before" in politics. Sturgeon continued: "It made me feel less safe and more at risk of possible physical harm.
"It was deeply ironic that those who subjected me to this level of hatred and misogynistic abuse often claimed to be doing so in the interests of women's safety, to be the standard-bearers of feminism. Nothing feels further from the truth than that."
In a message posted on social media today, Rowling said: "Watch my website for my review of Frankly, the memoir of Scotland's (checks notes) most persecuted, misunderstood, self-critical, open-to-debate, feminist-to-her-fingertips ex-First Minister."
It comes after Sturgeon yesterday claimed trans rapist Isla Bryson has forfeited the right "to be the gender of their choice" because of their "heinous" crimes.
The former SNP leader waded back into one of the most controversial episodes of her political career during a high-profile interview with ITV News, which will be broadcast tonight.
Sturgeon has previously refused to refer to Bryson - previously known as Adam Graham - as a man when challenged on the predator's sex crimes. Self-identification was at the heart of the Gender Recognition Reform (GRR) Bill, which Sturgeon championed before it was blocked from becoming law by the UK Government in 2023.
Bryson was jailed in February 2023 after being convicted of raping two women while living as a man named Adam.
The rapist was sent to a women's jail after identifying as female - prompting a huge uproar from opposition parties and womens' rights campaigners. They were later moved to a men's wing at HMP Edinburgh.
The row was one of the last acts of Sturgeon's premiership before she announced her intention to resign as first minister, prompting a bitter SNP leadership battle to replace her.
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