The trans war between JK Rowling and Boy George

Telegraph

5 hours ago

Do you really want to hurt me? When it comes to the increasingly vicious spat between author JK Rowling and Culture Club singer Boy George, the answer to that question seems to be a resounding 'yes'. Over the past couple of years the high-profile pair have taken up opposing positions in the transgender war, with Rowling long advocating for women's rights while Boy George recently becoming a vocal trans advocate.
This weekend their row escalated dramatically into a social media mud-slinging match. On Saturday, responding on X to Rowling's post querying 'Which rights have been taken away from trans people?', Boy George fired back: 'The right to be left alone by a rich bored bully!'.
The right to be left alone by a rich bored bully! https://t.co/vTNdexD9Uk
— Boy George (@BoyGeorge) June 14, 2025
He might have thought that jibe would deter Rowling, but the author has been fighting this particular corner for some time.
Rowling sent a lengthy reply to Boy George on Sunday morning which began: 'There are many differences between us, George, but some are particularly relevant to this debate.
'1. You're a man and I'm a woman.
'2. You've been wealthy and famous since your early 20s. I didn't become well known until I was well over 30.
'3. I've never been given 15 months for handcuffing a man to a wall and beating him with a chain.
'4. I believe in freedom of speech and belief.'
There are many differences between us, George, but some are particularly relevant to this debate.
1. You're a man and I'm a woman.
2. You've been wealthy and famous since your early 20s. I didn't become well known until I was well over 30.
3. I've never been given 15 months… https://t.co/bBbG9NPNKm
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) June 15, 2025
That third point refers to Boy George's 2009 conviction for the assault and false imprisonment, in 2007, of Norwegian male escort Auden Carlsen (the singer served four months of a 15-month sentence). Speaking on Piers Morgan's Life Stories in 2017, Boy George called it a 'psychotic episode'.
In her post on X, Rowling went on to say that she had spent many years in poverty, which is why she understood the importance of single-sex spaces for vulnerable women. She has previously spoken candidly about her experiences, including in an affecting personal essay published on her website in 2020, in which she said she is a survivor of domestic abuse and sexual assault.
Again, addressing Boy George directly, she continued in her post: 'You yourself have been convicted of violent assault. The overwhelming number of people who commit crimes of violence are male, just like you. That's why I don't want to see men identifying into women's prison cells.'
Rowling finished by accusing Boy George of doing the 'safe, fashionable thing in the arts world right now' by parroting the term ' trans women are women ' and sneering at 'the unenlightened plebs who think sex is important and matters. For a man who was once all about non-conformity, George, you couldn't have become more predictably or more tediously conformist.'
That mic drop wasn't the end of it, though. Writing on X on Monday, Boy George used a Harry Potter term for non-magical people to insult Rowling: 'Turns out she's a Muggle!'.
Turns out she's a Muggle!
— Boy George (@BoyGeorge) June 16, 2025
When another X user, @MrMagspie, replied 'Turns out she created magic, and you've done nothing of note', Boy George shot back: 'She killed magic. I'm still making it daily. With a smile in my soul.'
Boy George's apparent commitment to the cause appears to be something of a relatively new development. He has been a gay icon since the 1980s, celebrated by fans for his androgynous style and sharply witty media appearances. In 1983 when Joan Rivers asked him on her show if he preferred men or women, the singer replied teasingly 'Oh, both'.
But he didn't immediately transfer that eye-catching advocacy to the trans debate. In fact, as recently as 2020 he was still expressing scepticism. He even told his fans to 'leave your pronouns at the door' and said that explaining your pronouns was 'a modern form of attention seeking'.
A few months later, he tried to extricate himself from the subsequent opprobrium, although his defence still suggested some uncertainty. He claimed that he'd actually meant people would never have to explain their pronouns 'to the degree where it's uncomfortable for you' when they met him, but he did gripe about the 'policing' of his comments, saying: 'There is a lot of bullying online, like 'You have to do this, you have to do that.' There is this sense that our lives are being run by the internet.'
Nor did he become actively involved in trans rights until the past couple of years, when it became more prevalent in the wider conversation.
That apparent late change of heart was addressed by Rowling on Monday. Responding to a screengrab of Boy George's 2020 comment about pronouns, posted by another user, she essentially accused him of cynical hypocrisy, grouping him with other celebrities who have 'clambered onto the gender bandwagon because they were scared of being unfashionable. You could dig up most of their deepest convictions in under a minute, with a teaspoon.'
In fairness, he's no worse than half the slebs who clambered onto the gender bandwagon because they were scared of being unfashionable. You could dig up most of their deepest convictions in under a minute, with a teaspoon. https://t.co/LQ4AjIL3vL
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) June 16, 2025
Boy George seems to be sensitive to that particular accusation. In an X post on Saturday he shared a link to his song She Was Never He and said: 'Wrote this in 1995 long before JK got her oversized knickers in a twist! This conversation cannot be controlled by people who know nothing! #Trans'.
Wrote this in 1995 long before JK got her oversized knickers in a twist! This conversation cannot be controlled by people who know nothing! #Trans https://t.co/lUjITg2OGB
— Boy George (@BoyGeorge) June 14, 2025
That level of vitriol is astonishing when you consider that, in 2023, Boy George was actually defending Rowling – to a certain extent, at least. He struck a more measured tone in October when he said on X that what she knows about trans people 'would be [a] short book', but also clarified 'I don't hate her. Her words have power sadly. Beyond Harry Potter.'
Boy George actually seemed more dismayed than angered by Rowling at that stage – which is understandable since he was once a devoted Potter fan. On X, he's shared that he found the movie cast reunion in 2022 moving, adding 'So many great actors have been part of it. Weird not seeing JK though.' He also wrote: 'I wish real life were a bit more Harry Potter!'.
But, as much as he loves the wizarding world, in 2020 he began attacking its creator. This was also the year in which Rowling stepping up her activities, expressing staunch opposition to Scotland's gender recognition bill, and slating an opinion piece which referred to 'people who menstruate' instead of women.
Boy George took to X to criticise her words, posting: 'Why give attention to what you see as negativity? Who actually cares what JK thinks about something she knows zero about. Post positive stuff. I thought JK had more of an imagination!'
Why? Why give attention to what you see as negativity? Who actually cares what JK thinks about something she knows zero about. Post positive stuff. I thought JK had more of an imagination! https://t.co/AL1nV1tlSG
— Boy George (@BoyGeorge) June 11, 2020
Not everyone agreed with his stance. Singer Marilyn, formerly a close friend of Boy George's and a fellow 1980s pop star, took a very different tack. In June that year, Marilyn wrote on X: 'JK Rowling is one of the most supportive people I have ever met with regards to individuals choices to be whoever they want to be!! The fact that she seems to be continually 'on the chopping block' as 'anti trans' is absolute nonsense!! Give here [sic] a break!!'
But Boy George clearly didn't listen to his old pal. Instead, he seemed to grow more militant in both his views and manner of speech about trans issues. Meanwhile, Rowling had grown much more battle-hardened while handling a torrent of criticism (including from former Potter actors), online abuse and even death threats.
It became almost inevitable, then, that she and Boy George would ultimately clash – and so they did in April 2025. Following the Supreme Court's ruling that the definition of a woman is based on biological sex – a ruling vociferously cheered by Rowling – Hollywood actor Pedro Pascal (whose sibling Lux came out as transgender in 2021) blasted the author on Instagram for what he termed 'heinous LOSER behaviour'.
Boy George then wrote on X, referring to Pascal's subsequent critics: 'Stop this nonsense that if you don't agree with @jk_rowling you hate women. She hates men. This is where this truth lies. She cannot differentiate between a 'trans' woman and a biological male. Which is weird with her imagination?'
Stop this nonsense that if you don't agree with @jk_rowling you hate women. She hates men. This is where this truth lies. She cannot differentiate between a 'trans' woman and a biological male. Which is weird with her imagination? https://t.co/t4pCDzm2TM
— Boy George (@BoyGeorge) April 26, 2025
The author was prepared for such censure and knew exactly how she wanted to articulate her position. She immediately wrote back on X: 'I'm married to a man, George. I do not hate men. I simply live in reality where men – however they identify – commit 98% of sexual assaults, and 88% of victims are female. Trans-identified men are no less likely than other kinds of men to pose a risk to women or girls.'
🙄I'm married to a man, George. I do not hate men. I simply live in reality where men - however they identify - commit 98% of sexual assaults, and 88% of victims are female. Trans-identified men are no less likely than other kinds of men to pose a risk to women or girls. https://t.co/0zC3p99WyL
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) April 27, 2025
It's striking that Rowling's posts, while striking a tough blow by referencing his criminal conviction, generally stay more on message, articulating the well-practised arguments from her tireless campaigning. But Boy George appears to be relishing the attention, posting on Monday: 'Am I trending? Good. Get my new album.'
As the rancorous debate over trans issues rages on, and with HBO's upcoming Harry Potter TV show likely to keep both the young wizard and his creator in the headlines, this won't be the last we see of Boy George and Rowling's public battle – although it may become increasingly one-sided, since Rowling has a whole army of critics to contend with. But one thing is clear: it would take a mightily powerful spell to silence either of them.