JK Rowling claims she has been doxxed by trans activists. What happened?
The legendary Harry Potter author, JK Rowling has found herself in hot water again (most would argue that it's well-deserved). On November 22, Rowling tweeted an 8-tweet thread saying that her family’s address was posted on Twitter by three activists who are known to campaign on trans matters. The activists took pictures of themselves in front of her house. Rowling said the photos had her address on them. She claimed to have been 'doxxed' in order to intimidate her out of 'speaking up for women’s sex-based rights'. The activists identified by Rowling as Holly Stars, Georgia Frost and Richard Energy have now deleted their respective Twitter accounts.
For those not versed in British vocabulary, as per Oxford Languages, doxxing simply means to 'publish private or identifying information about (a particular individual) on the internet, typically with malicious intent'. Here is what the tweet is:
While I agree that it is wrong to dox people regardless of their celebrity status, it is also important to remember that Rowling's Scotland house is regularly featured in British media. Here is a link to one such article by Mail Online that entirely focuses on her house: JK Rowling is renovating her £2m Edinburgh mansion with new kitchen, scullery and pantry and will erect 4ft high gates at 162-acre Perthshire estate.
A quick Google search also tells you that her country house in Scotland is known as Killiechassie House and provides you with the address.
Here is how people responded to her on Twitter:
Just like with any other controversy, there are supporters of Rowling too, who have started the hashtag #IStandWithJKRowling. Here are some of them:
Rowling's issues with the trans community doesn't begin here. On June 7, 2020, she reshared an article and wrote, "'People who menstruate.’ I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?'." As expected, Twitter and other social media platforms erupted in response, calling it a transphobia manifesto and 'misinformation, fear mongering, misgendering, othering, ignorance, far right language/dog whistles, and pure hate'.
Multiple Harry Potter stars such as Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson and Eddie Redmayne also spoke out against that thread. (READ MORE HERE: A Complete Breakdown of the JK. Rowling Transgender-Comments Controversy)
It is because of her transphobic comments on multiple occasions that JK Rowling is not going to be a part of the recently announced Harry Potter reunion, titled Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return To Hogwarts. Mail Online reports that Rowling will only be shown in archival footage but will not make any appearances in the reunion episode.