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JK Rowling says she and Stephen Fry were NEVER friends after he said Harry Potter author was ‘radicalised by TERFs'

The author posted the brutal dig on her social media JK HITS BACK JK Rowling says she and Stephen Fry were NEVER friends after he said Harry Potter author was 'radicalised by TERFs' Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) AUTHOR JK Rowling has hit back at Sir Stephen Fry amid the pair's public trans row. It comes after Fry, who has previously referred to the Harry Potter creator as a "friend of mine", called her out for her views on trans women. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 4 JK Rowling has sensationally claimed that the pair were never friends Credit: Getty 4 The author denied suggestions she was pals with Fry Credit: X 4 The 67-year-old presenter accused Rowling of being a 'lost cause' Credit: The Mega Agency The 67-year-old presenter, who narrates the popular Harry Potter audio books, turned his back on Rowling, 59, accusing her of being a "lost cause". The comedian said: "She has been radicalised I fear and it may be she has been radicalised by TERFs. "It is unhelpful and only hardens her and will only continue to harden her I am afraid. "I am sorry because I always liked her company. I found her charming, funny and interesting. "Then this thing happened and it completely altered the way she talks and engages with the world now. "I am not saying that she not be called out when she says things that are really cruel, wrong and mocking. "She seems to be a lost cause for us." His words were then reposted on social media by barrister Jo Maugham - prompting a brutal response from the author. But in response to the tweet, Rowling denied claims that the pair were close. Posting on X, she said: "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." The author is no stranger to such comments and has long stood firm in the face of online pressure. Rowling has come under fire for comments made in the past towards trans people. PM backs JK Rowling in war with trans activists and says 'we should not criminalise people saying common sense things' In 2020, the esteemed author slammed the growing trend of replacing "biological sex" with "gender identity". Her stance, that declared "sex is real", led to death threats, but also moulded her into a figurehead for the "gender-critical" movement. Activists accused her of transphobia in 2020 when replying to an article with the headline: "Opinion: Creating a more equal post Covid-19 world for people who menstruate." She tweeted: "'People who menstruate'. I'm sure there used to be a word for those people. "Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?" Her remarks led to criticism from Potter actors Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, who ignored the fact her books had made them famous to launch a string of attacks. It was Rowling's beloved group For Women Scotland which also launched a long-running legal battle with the Scottish government over how a "woman" was defined in Scottish law. The Scottish government had argued people with gender recognition certificates (GRCs) should be protected from sex-based discrimination, meaning a transwoman would be considered a woman. However, campaign group For Women Scotland claimed this only applied to people born as a female. In April, the Supreme Court's landmark judgement ruled that it was unanimously determined "sex is binary" and that female-only spaces must be protected on the basis of biology. Hailing the landmark decision, Tory Leader Kemi Badenoch said: "Saying 'trans women are women' was never true in fact, and now isn't true in law either. "This is a victory for all of the women who faced personal abuse or lost their jobs for stating the obvious. "Women are women and men are men: you cannot change your biological sex."