News

J.K. Rowling Draws From Real Life For A ‘Persecuted’ Transphobic Character In Her New Novel

J.K. Rowling’s new novel, part of a series of crime-thriller books she writes under a pen name, is being debated for featuring a character experiencing death threats due to creating something labeled as racist and transphobic.

Rowling, the best-selling author of the Harry Potter series, has recently come under fire for airing views that seem to be simply feminist on the surface but have a chilling undercurrent of hostility towards trans people in the name of feminism.

A previous book in this same series, Troubled Blood, received similar criticisms when it featured a male serial killer who lured his victims to their deaths by wearing a dress. She has also echoed the bigoted and untrue claim that inclusive restrooms would cause men to freely use the policies to attack women in the bathroom.

If you want to read the whole book for yourself, spoilers for The Ink Black Heart will be following. The character of concern was Edie Ledwell, a cartoonist who creates a beloved YouTube series that eventually comes afoul of her fans over being transphobic, sexist and ableist. This leads to a torrent of hate messages, Ledwell’s address getting leaked, and her eventual murder by stabbing.

Obviously, toxic fandoms with unrealistic expectations for creators are very much a real thing, but the self-insertion is pretty clear here. I thought Rowling denied her social media presence had any influence on the novel.

She told Graham Norton, “I said to my husband, ‘I think everyone is going to see this as a response to what happened to me,’ but it genuinely wasn’t. The first draft of the book was finished at the point certain things happened.”

Since its original publication, the novel has received mixed-to-negative reviews. Some have mocked its huge 1200 pages, which is over 300 pages longer than the longest Harry Potter novel: The Order Of The Phoenix. One user online noted, hilariously, that the page count is inflated because the book contains tons of fake inflammatory tweets.

Jacob Linden

Recent Posts

Mindy Kaling Roasted By ‘Office’ Costar B.J. Novak While Receiving Star On Hollywood Walk Of Fame: ‘I Love You’

B.J. Novak and Mindy Kaling were seen together at the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Wednesday, where Kaling received a…

46 mins ago

After Steve Bannon Makes Nazi-Like Salute, French Far-Right Leader Jordan Bardella Cancels Speech At CPAC

Bannon denied the salute, calling the gesture a wave, a claim akin to Elon Musk’s…

53 mins ago

VIDEO EXCLUSIVE: Josh Lawson Shares His Favorite Episode Of ‘St. Denis Medical’

Lawson thought back, "Well, I gotta say, I’ve never done a Christmas episode before, so…

3 hours ago

After 100-Lbs. Weight Loss, Jessica Simpson Drops New Single About Heartbreaking Split With Eric Johnson

She reflected, “Music makes you un-become to become, and through this process, my soul has…

4 hours ago

VIDEO: Moment Ex-Proud Boys Leader Enrique Tarrio Is Arrested Near U.S. Capitol Capture In Footage After Pardon From Trump

https://youtu.be/RmkxhzawkxQ The US Capitol Police arrested Enrique Tarrio, former Proud Boys leader, after a rally…

22 hours ago

Grimes Publicly Calls For Ex Elon Musk To Acknowledge Her Calls Regarding A ‘Medical Crisis’ Involving One Of Their Kids

Musk has 13 children (that the public knows about) with four different women, the most…

22 hours ago