Misery loves company.
Following the election of two transgender members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs), Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling has only publicly commented on an anti-trans candidate who lost her race.
On Saturday, May 9, Rowling posted “Hear, hear” to her 13 million followers on X in response to a post praising Dr. Pam Gosal, a Scottish MSP who lost her re-election bid, and who has previously made anti-trans comments. (Gosal said she was “thrilled” when the U.K. Supreme Court ruled in February of last year that trans women are not legally women.)
The original post praising Gosal, from Scottish writer Susan Dalgety, read, “This is what diversity looks like in power,” mirroring a statement made by Dr. Q Manivannan, one of the two newly-elected trans MSPs.
Per People, Manivannan and Iris Duane were elected to the legislative body on Friday, both as members of the Scottish Green Party. Manivannan will represent Edinburgh and Lothians East electoral region, where Rowling lives, meaning that the author is now represented by a trans politician.
The two new MSPs hit a much cheerier tone following the elections than Rowling did.
“Hope. All we ask for is hope,” Duane wrote on Instagram Stories shortly after her victory, per People.
Manivann, who is a trans Tamil immigrant, told a crowd of onlookers after their victory, “I am to some in this country everything that the hateful despise and I am standing here as your MSP now with care,” as The Independent reported.
The same day that Rowling showed support for Gosal, she also criticized U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer for appointing Harriet Harman, who has expressed support for trans people, as the Adviser on Women and Girls.
“Bravo, @Keir_Starmer, for getting in an Adviser on Women and Girls who thinks the definition of women and girls includes men and boys,” Rowling wrote on X. “That’ll definitely win back people who believe Labour’s a party for smug, lanyard-wearing, luxury-belief-espousing cultural elitists.”
Though Rowling had been spouted publicly liking transphobic posts on the social media service then known as Twitter as early as 2018, she fully came out as anti-trans in 2020 when she published a 3,800-word screed on her personal website. Since then, she has given beaucoup bucks to the cause, including her own organization focused on funding anti-trans initiatives.
