JK Rowling has mocked authorities in Canada after they apologised for hosting a ‘transphobic’ Harry Potter-themed event due to her transgender views.
Officials on the Vancouver Park Board ‘disavowed’ the gender critical author after admitting they made a mistake in approving the city’s Harry Potter: A Forbidden Forest Experience.
The attraction is still due to run at Stanley Park next month but has faced criticism from LGBTQ groups due to its association with the writer, with some claiming the walk would enrich Rowling and cause harm to trans residents.
One transgender campaigner argued Ms Rowling was ‘one of if not the most single influential person on earth leading the charge against transgender rights’, while another said the author had ‘consistently amplified negative messages about transgender individuals’.
Vancouver city commissioner Scott Jensen became visibly emotional and choked back tears as he apologised, saying he had been ‘really moved’ by their words and recognised ‘the lived experiences’ and ‘hurt’ the community had suffered.
But Edinburgh-based writer Ms Rowling, 60, appeared to be less sympathetic as she made light of her disavowal with a post on X last night, joking that it would take her years to recover.
‘To be honest, I didn’t even know Vancouver Parks and Recreations had avowed me, so the disavowal hasn’t been much of a blow,’ she wrote.
‘Next time, send me a certificate of avowal, wait until I’ve proudly framed it, hung it over my PC and taken a selfie with it, then revoke it.’
Responding to a comment on her post, Rowling added: ‘With time, therapy and the support of my family, I anticipate that I’ll be able to hear the words “Vancouver Parks and Recreations” without suffering a serious breakdown within two to three years.’
JK Rowling (pioctured) has mocked authorities in Canada after they apologised for hosting a ‘transphobic’ Harry Potter-themed event due to her transgender views
The Forbidden Forest Experience was due to be held on November 7 at Stanley Park
A motion by commissioner Tom Digby, which urged the Vancouver Park Board to officially apologise for hosting the event, passed by unanimous vote on Tuesday.
The motion also requested that the Vancouver Park Board instruct staff to report back and confirm that the attraction will run for only one season, with no extension or renewal.
In his motion Mr Digby wrote: ‘Deep concerns about the event have arisen because the original author of Harry Potter, JK Rowling, has, since at least used her platform and the wealth gained from the Harry Potter franchise to fund and amplify anti-transgender political campaigns, and her actions have caused harm to trans communities worldwide, including here in Vancouver.
‘The potential negative effects on an important part of our community by the decision to host the Harry Potter event in Stanley Park opening in November 2025 has called into question the reputation of the Park Board.’
Rob Hadley, a member of the city’s 2SLGBTQ advisory, rejected the argument that the event was in celebration of the books and movies, not the author.
Meanwhile, Ky Sargeant, a representative from the queer organization Qmunity, told the board: ‘I don’t know if there’s anything that can be said that will make people happy. But I do know there is a lot that can be said that will make it much worse.’
Several commissioners claimed they were unfamiliar with Rowling’s political activism when they approved the attraction, which is run by Harry Potter film studio Warner Bros.
Vancouver city commissioner Scott Jensen agreed with members of the group when he made a tearful apology for the event earlier this week.
He became emotional as he addressed voiced their concerns at a Park Board meeting, telling them: ‘I’ve been really moved by your words […] the lived experiences, the hurt, so on behalf of myself I do apologise.’
Vancouver city commissioner Scott Jensen became emotional as he apologised over a ‘transphobic’ Harry Potter event due to take place in the city
Rob Hadley, a member of the city’s LGBTQIA+ advisory council, said Harry Potter author JK Rowling’s anti-trans sentiments made it inappropriate for the event to go ahead
Ky Sargeant, a representative from the queer organization Qmunity, also addressed the commissioners
Rowling has endured a backlash after voicing concerns over the dismissal of biological sex in favour of focusing on gender identity, to the detriment of women’s rights, but she has denied being transphobic.
She first aired her views on Twitter in the summer of 2020, also revealing in an essay that she had been a victim of domestic violence and abuse in her first marriage.
Earlier this week she suggested she may fund future legal action against SNP ministers after they were accused of ‘stalling’ on £250,000 owed to feminist campaigners.
The Scottish Government has yet to pay the legal costs awarded to For Women Scotland (FWS) last April after it challenged a flawed Holyrood law at the Supreme Court.
FWS director Marion Calder said: ‘They just don’t want to settle in case we use the money to sue them again.’
In response Rowling wrote on X: ‘That plan has a rather large flaw. Me.’
Last month, the author also accused Harry Potter actress Emma Watson of being ‘ignorant of how ignorant she is’ after criticising Rowling’s gender critical stance.
Ms Rowling has vowed to ‘never forgive’ Ms Watson or her Harry Potter co-stars Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint for having ‘cosied up to a movement intent on eroding women’s hard-won rights’.
But she has never previously made such a personal criticism of the woman she made famous.
JK Rowling with Emma Watson at the world premiere of Deathly Hallows in 2011
Ms Rowling said the trio had ‘every right to embrace gender identity ideology’ but attacked them for using their links to Harry Potter to serve as ‘de facto spokespeople’ for the ‘world I created’.
Ms Rowling then focused her fire on Ms Watson by suggesting her views on trans rights were due to her lack of experience of ‘real life’.
The actress recently blamed her driving ban on being a movie star from a young age, saying it had left her ‘unable to do some pretty basic life things’.
Ms Rowling raged: ‘I wasn’t a multimillionaire at fourteen. I lived in poverty while writing the book that made Emma famous.
‘I therefore understand from my own life experience what the trashing of women’s rights in which Emma has so enthusiastically participated means to women and girls without her privileges.’
Ms Rowling went on to claim that Ms Watson’s recent claim that she still ‘treasures’ her was a cynical attempt to shift her stance after realising ‘full-throated condemnation of me is not as fashionable as it once was’.
It is not the first time Ms Rowling has hit out at the Harry Potter actors, who have each commented in opposition to her views on transgender issues, while expressing their gratitude for her role in their careers.
She appeared to aim a jibe at them in April, when sharing on her X account a response to another user who asked: ‘What actor/actress instantly ruins a movie for you?’
The writer responded: ‘Three guesses. Sorry, but that was irresistible.’
Ms Rowling claims to have been vindicated by the Supreme Court’s ruling earlier this year that the words ‘woman’ and ‘sex’ in the 2010 Equality Act referred to biological sex, not acquired gender.
She wrote on X at the time: ‘Trans people have lost zero rights today, although I don’t doubt some (not all) will be furious that the Supreme Court upheld women’s sex-based rights.’
