Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling has accused Society of Authors chairwoman and Chocolat author Joanne Harris of failing to stand up for authors against threats from the woke left because of her pro-transgender beliefs.
Following the stabbing of Satanic Verses author Salman Rushdie, J.K. Rowling revealed that she had received a death threat from what appeared to be a radical Islamist, warning the Harry Potter author that she was “next”.
Since planting her flag on the side of women’s rights in the transgender debate, Rowling has claimed to have received numerous death threats and even had her family home doxxed by leftist activists.
In the wake of the attack on Rushdie, Society of Authors chairwoman Joanne Harris said that she had relayed her sympathy for Rowling “and to everyone in a similar position” of receiving death threats.
However, the Harry Potter author shot back by saying that she had “received no communication whatsoever from Harris expressing sympathy for the death and rape threats I’ve received,” going on to accuse the Chocolat author of ignoring threats espoused by those on woke left.
“Harris has consistently failed to criticise tactics designed to silence and intimidate women who disagree with her personal position on gender identity ideology and has said publicly, ‘Cancel isn’t a dirty word. We habitually cancel things we no longer want.’
“I find it impossible to square the society’s stated position on freedom of speech with Harris’s public statements over the past two years and stand in solidarity with all female writers in the UK who currently feel betrayed by their professional body and its leader.”
Harris, who has claimed that her son is transgender, responded to the accusations by saying that the “campaign to remove” her as chairwoman of the authors union “has been going on since I signed a letter in solidarity of trans people three years ago. The smears, lies and threats from JKR’s followers have been escalating since then.”
“My personal feelings about the gender-critical movement don’t affect my belief in free speech, or what I do for the Society of Authors.
“We vigorously promote free speech,” the Chocolat author insisted. “But free speech comes with an equal right to a response… J.K. Rowling has every right to her opinions. I may not share them, but that’s fine. And I totally condemn any threats to her, as I do to anyone.
Nevertheless, an open letter penned by feminist writer Julie Bindel, which has been signed by over 100 other authors and industry professionals, said that they felt the need to “express our deep disquiet and anger at the Society of Authors’ abject failure to speak out on violent threats towards its members,” adding that “we believe Joanne Harris’s position as Chair of the Management Committee is untenable”.
A competing open letter from author Melinda Salisbury voiced support for Harris, saying that she has “been a stalwart, fair, dedicated, and passionate chair”.
The letter went on to say that they were “concerned by the seemingly coordinated attacks against her by a small, but vocal, minority, who have become known to many of us who use Twitter as persons who regularly use their own platforms to intimidate and bully those who do not agree with their ideologies regarding trans and non-binary people.”
In a statement on Wednesday, the Society of Authors said: “We condemn any type of personal attack on any author — whether physical, verbal, legal or political — for exercising their right to express themselves freely.”
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