Stephen Fry Weighs In On JK Rowling Controversy As He Claims She's Been 'Radicalised'
Stephen Fry has weighed in on the controversy surrounding JK Rowling in light of her ongoing commentary on transgender people.
To many, the former QI host is known as the voice of Harry Potter, having recorded the original audiobooks for all seven of Rowling’s children’s books.
During a new interview with the podcast The Show People, Stephen was asked for his thoughts on the Harry Potter author – who has repeatedly made headlines in recent years due to her views on trans people.
More recently, this has included deliberately misgendering a number of transgender public figures, and publicly celebrating the UK Supreme Court’s ruling about the legal definition of a woman now only applying to those who are assigned female at birth.
During the conversation, Stephen shared his view that the writer had been radicalised not just “by TERFs”, referring to “trans-exclusionary radical feminists” but “also by the vitriol that is thrown at her”.
He claimed: “[The backlash against her] is unhelpful and only hardens her and will only continue to harden her, I am afraid. She seems to be a lost cause for us.”
Stephen noted: “She started to make these peculiar statements and had very strong difficult views. She seemed to wake up or kick a hornet’s nest of transphobia which has been entirely destructive.
“I disagree profoundly with her on this subject. I am angry she does not disavow some of the more revolting and truly horrible, violently destructive things that people say. She does not attack those at all.
“She says things that are inflammatory and contemptuous, mocking, and add to a terribly distressing time for trans people.”
During the conversation, Stephen added that until recently, he’d found Rowling “charming, funny and interesting”, until “this thing happened and it completely altered the way she talks and engages with the world now”.
JK Rowling’s team had no comment when contacted by HuffPost UK.
Stephen interviewed Rowling on The One Show as recently as 2022 to discuss her latest children’s book, without mentioning the controversy her views on the LGBTQ+ had created.
Back in December, Stephen faced criticism of his own when he appeared on the right-wing podcast Triggernometry, calling the LGBTQ+ charity Stonewall’s support for trans children into question.
Help and support:
- The Gender Trust supports anyone affected by gender identity | 01527 894 838
- Mermaids offers information, support, friendship and shared experiences for young people with gender identity issues | 0208 1234819
- LGBT Youth Scotland is the largest youth and community-based organisation for LGBT people in Scotland. Text 07786 202 370
- Gires provides information for trans people, their families and professionals who care for them | 01372 801554
- Depend provides support, advice and information for anyone who knows, or is related to, a transsexual person in the UK