Latest news with #UnitedKingdomSupremeCourt
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Nicola Coughlan Slams J.K. Rowling Over Her Support of Anti-Trans Supreme Court Ruling: 'Keep Your New 'Harry Potter' Lads'
Nicola Coughlan is not a fan of J.K. Rowling. On Friday, April 18, the Bridgerton star, 38, slammed the author over her controversial support of an United Kingdom Supreme Court ruling that trans women are not legally women in a scathing post on her Instagram Stories. Following the April 16 ruling, Rowling, 59, shared a post on X, which featured a celebratory photo of her smoking a cigar and holding up a drink. She wrote beside the image: "I love it when a plan comes together. #SupremeCourt #WomensRights." In response, Coughlan shared a post from The Cut on her Instagram Story and linked to an article from the outlet titled, "This Is a New Low for J.K. Rowling." On top of the post, the actress wrote, "Keep your new Harry Potter lads," referring to HBO's new series that is adapting each of the seven books into their own season. Coughlan said she "wouldn't touch [the series] with a ten-foot pole" due to the author's anti-trans beliefs, given that Rowling is involved in the HBO series — and was part of the selection process for its showrunner and executive producers. Related: J.K. Rowling Hits Out at Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson Over Their Trans Rights Support: They Can 'Save Their Apologies' The actress continued to voice her support for the trans community on Instagram, saying in a video that she was "completely horrified" by the news and planning to start a fundraiser for Not A Phase, a charity that supports trans adults across the U.K. Coughlan initially set her goal at £10,000 ($13,265) and vowed to match donations up to that amount. 'To see an already-marginalized community to be further attacked in law is really stomach-turning and disgusting, and these people celebrating it [are] more stomach-turning and disgusting,' she said in her video. 'If you are a cisgender person who is an ally of a trans person, I think now is the time to just speak up and make your voice heard, and let your trans, nonbinary friends and just the community at large know that you're there for them and will keep fighting for them," she added. In the caption of her video, Coughlan wrote: "Allies of the Trans and Non Binary Community time to come together. F--- the Supreme Court, f--- the TERFs let's raise some money 🩷🤍🩵" Since then, Coughlan has raised nearly £100,000 ($132,655), which she confirmed on her Instagram Story on April 18. Coughlan is not the only celebrity to speak out in opposition to Rowling, 59, who first came under fire in 2020 for making comments that were widely condemned as transphobic. Following the comments, Sex and the City star Cynthia Nixon spoke out and said Rowling's opinions were "really painful" for her transgender son, while Pete Davidson called the author out on Saturday Night Live, as he asked, "What's wrong with her?" Related: Jonathan Van Ness and Nicola Coughlan Open Up About 'Rare' Friendship After Meeting on Instagram The cast of Harry Potter also weighed in. Daniel Radcliffe penned an essay for the Trevor Project days later, writing, "To all the people who now feel that their experience of the books has been tarnished or diminished, I am deeply sorry for the pain these comments have caused you. I really hope that you don't entirely lose what was valuable in these stories to you." Rupert Grint and Emma Watson also spoke out in support of the trans community amidst the backlash. Grint told The Sunday Times, 'I firmly stand with the trans community and echo the sentiments expressed by many of my peers. Trans women are women. Trans men are men." Watson, for her part, wrote in a tweet: 'Trans people are who they say they are and deserve to live their lives without being constantly questioned or told they aren't who they say they are. I want my trans followers to know that I and so many other people around the world see you, respect you and love you for who you are.' Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Last year, Radcliffe doubled down on his opposition to Rowling's opinion as he told The Atlantic that her comments made him "really sad, ultimately, because I do look at the person that I met, the times that we met, and the books that she wrote and the world that she created, and all of that is to me so deeply empathic." "Obviously, Harry Potter would not have happened without her, so nothing in my life would have probably happened the way it is without that person," he said. "But that doesn't mean that you owe the things you truly believe to someone else for your entire life." Read the original article on People
Euronews
16-04-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
UK says equalities law defines women as only those born biologically female
ADVERTISEMENT The United Kingdom Supreme Court has ruled that the definition of a woman under the country's equalities law refers to someone born biologically female. This definition would reject the Scottish government's argument that it should include transgender women. According to Justice Patrick Hodge, five judges at the court ruled unanimously in favour of this decision. This means that a transgender person with a certificate recognising them as female should not be considered a woman for equality purposes. The court did emphasise that the ruling "does not remove protection from trans people," who are "protected from discrimination on the ground of gender reassignment." The case stems from a 2018 law passed by the Scottish Parliament stating that there should be a 50% female representation on the boards of Scottish public bodies. Transgender women were to be included in meeting the quota. Feminist groups that had challenged the Scottish government hailed Wednesday's ruling as a victory. "The court has given us the right answer: the protected characteristic of sex — male and female — refers to reality, not to paperwork," said Maya Forstater of the group Sex Matters. For Women Scotland, a women's rights group that says they "believe that there are only two sexes," brought the legal challenge. They argued that the Scottish officials' redefinition of woman went beyond parliament's powers. But Scottish officials then issued new guidance stating that the definition of woman included someone with a gender recognition certificate. The challenge was rejected by a court in 2022, but the group was granted permission last year to take its case to the Supreme Court. Aidan O'Neill, a lawyer for FWS, told the Supreme Court judges — three men and two women — that under the Equality Act, "sex" should refer to biological sex and as understood "in ordinary, everyday language". The Scottish Greens have criticised the ruling, with MSP Maggie Chapman saying it is "deeply concerning for human rights" in a post on X. Amnesty International said excluding transgender people from sex discrimination protections conflicted with human rights laws. Amnesty submitted a brief in court saying it was concerned about the deterioration of the rights of trans people in the UK and abroad. ADVERTISEMENT "A blanket policy of barring transwomen from single-sex services is not a proportionate means to achieve a legitimate aim," the human rights group said.
