'He is One': JK Rowling Under Fire For Remarks on Trans Football Referee, Issues Clarification

Eminent author JK Rowling is once again facing criticism for her controversial transphobic remarks on first openly transgender football manager Lucy Clark.

The Harry Potter author found herself amid a raging controversy due to her response to a post by LGBTQ+ charity Pride on X (formerly known as Twitter), which was celebrating Clark’s achievements.

Clark, a transgender referee, made history by becoming the first manager in the top five divisions of English Women’s football who identifies as a transwoman. This feat was celebrated by the LGBTQ+ charity Pride on X

In the post, which featured a photo of Clark proudly brandishing her pink whistle and a red card, Rowling said when I was young, football managers were straight.

“When I was young, all the football managers were straight, white, middle-aged blokes, so it’s fantastic to see how much things have changed,” she wrote on the social media platform.

However, Rowling’s response did not go well with social media users with many condemning her remarks as “cruel and transphobic”.

In response to the massive backlash on her post, Rowling further said that calling a man a man is not ‘bullying’ or ‘punching down’. She also clarified that she did not compare the football manager to a “straight, white, middle-aged bloke”, but that “he IS one”.

“I didn’t compare him to one. He IS one,” Rowling’s post read.

Notably, this is not the first time Rowling sparked outrage for her comments but her previous remarks on Mother’s Day also sparked controversy, where netizens accused her of trolling trans activists and inclusive language.

“Happy Birthing Parent Day to all whose large gametes were fertilised resulting in small humans whose sex was assigned by doctors making mostly lucky guesses,” the post read.

Earlier, Rowling was reported to the police by UK television personality India Willoughby over her alleged transphobic comments.

Willoughby, who underwent gender reassignment surgery in 2015, has accused Rowling of intentionally misgendering her.