I didn't expect to revisit this thread, but I still believe J.K.R's content should not have a platform.
As recently as February 2024, JKR has donated a staggering 70,000 pounds (86,460.29 USD) to help repeal the rights of trans women in Scotland.
She of course, has also deliberately misgendered a trans woman and broadcaster named India Willoughby and even went as far as saying “You’ve sent me the wrong video. There isn’t a lady in this one, just a man revelling in his misogynistic performance of what he thinks ‘woman’ means: narcissistic, shallow and exhibitionist.”upon being sent a video of her by a Twitter user.
And most shockingly of all, J.K.R has stooped as low as holocaust denial. She denied that the Nazis burned books and documents pertaining to trans healthcare and research. This happened this month, and she even intimidated someone into silence by abusing her power and wealth- because who could go against her in court? Certainly not most people speaking out against her.
Frankly, I find it insulting to see that people have diminished this to be about how fans feel, or about it being "no fun allowed" or that this situation, which has extraordinary circumstances is at all comparable. Are any of the Erins, even a former author under the pseudonym, Gillian Philips, who is also a TERF like Rowling influential enough to be directly cited by an American senator while explicitly blocking a trans-rights bill? Does a fan being sad they can't talk about Harry Potter on one specific website outweigh the fact that J.K.R uses Harry Potter and the money it makes to hurt people, and that because she gets worse by the year it's dubious to sing it's praises? This isn't to say that series like Warriors having problematic authors is unimportant, so much as saying that as far as I am immediately ware, none of them, not even Gillian Philips are so influencial that they are the face of a hate movement.
I ask again, when will enough be enough? How many lengths does she have to go before people say its immoral to act like this is just a series with a problematic creator like Danny Phantom (which had multiple people working on it by the way, not just Butch Hartman- ergo supporting it could mean supporting the people who worked on it that aren't lousy like him), or that it just has problematic writing like Warriors? Will it be enough if she succeeds in stamping out the rights of trans people in Scotland and the UK- especially the rights of trans women? Will we all just let the status quo go on and let fans happily enjoy their comfort media as it's creator ruins the lives of trans people- and undoubtedly has given people in other countries such as politicians in the USA ideas on how to continue their oppression of trans people here? Genuinely, why do fans comfort- even trans people who still like Harry Potter come before again, the very real, tangible effort she's making to oppress trans people and harass those who speak out into silence? Does she need to actually take someone to court for calling her out and potentially cause them to lose all of their money trying to defend themselves?
While I am not against separating the art from the artist- or examining the works of deeply bigoted individuals such as H.P. Lovecraft for example, you cannot separate the work from the author when it is an active tool and fund for the oppression of minorities. I do not intend to debate my stance. I don't even support book bannings given that books like Maus were clearly banned out of antisemitic bigotry- and that any good banning books could hypothetically do would inevitably be used by bigots to ban books retelling the horrors Jewish people, LGBT+ people and other minoities who were targeted by Nazis experienced during the Holocaust like Maus or Anne Frank's diary, or even books for small children like Hair Love and other books who were unfairly targetted. I do however, think there is a strong difference between banning a book and discouraging people from giving more attention to a franchise who's author that is doing horrific harm more people . What of the people who say, find a discussion thread and become a fan- only to become radicalized against trans women and the community as a whole upon seeing J.K.R's tweets? Can we really gloss over this potential issue, knowing how teenage boys were radicalized by Andrew Tate- or how imfamously PewDiePie shifting to alt-right views caused many fans of him to o the same? Having grown up with bigoted beliefs as a child, it's not hard for me to imagine how someone could be influenced to double down on their beliefs if they saw the author of their new favorite book series encouraging hatred. I am fully aware of the fact that other series such as Warriors and Pokemon have problems, but can you point to any of the people working on that and tell me they're hellbent on arguing on Twitter with trans people, encouraging terf ideology and donating large sums of money to causes that hurt people? Are they too being quoted? Gillian Philips, ex-Erin Hunter author was ousted after Warriors fans discovered she was a terf at the very least.
Can people not even say, stop showing support of her works in protest until Warner Brothers and all who bankroll her stop supporting her? How can the Warriors fandom successfully cause a positive change for the series, but Harry Potter fans aren't expected to do the same? You could very well make the argument that asking someone roleplaying as Firestar to pushback against Gillian Philips or any other Erin Hunter members who want to come out of the bigotry boiler room is expecting too much of someone who just wants to "have fun" and that it'd be "fun policing" to do so. And yet, the fandom managed to push for Harper Collins to drop her. Can you imagine what might happen if the Harry Potter fandom did the same, to attempt to get J.K.R. out from her own franchise? Even if it would inevitably be met with people buying her merch out of bigoted spite like those who bought Hogwarts Legacy (some even bought multiple copies), at least it'd be something.
J.K.R. has also allied herself with other notable bigots, such as Julie Bindel, known for working with an alt-right hate group called the Heritage Foundation which is also violently LGBT+phobic, against BLM, and are climate change deniers among other things. She too, much like J.K.R. has become is an outspoken bigot. Caroline Farrow, who works with CitizenGo- another hate group that has even spread misinformation in Kenya to prevent homosexuality from becoming decriminalized for example- and J.K.R. has been seen fondly interacting with her as well. She has also (allegedly) doxxed a trans woman as well. But sure, there's no need at all to bristle at seeing her series get praised when this is going on in the background, is there?
At the very least, there could be disclaimers on Harry Potter threads (added by staff or by the users who make them) denoting that J.K.R. is a bigot and that you should not spend your money consuming her works or buying up her merch unless it's secondhand, because it provably goes to terrorizing trans women, and likely will be used to persecute trans men and nonbinary people if she gets her way before moving onto the rest of the LGBT community. I truly don't know what to say if J.K.R. loudly and proudly devoting time and large amounts of money to oppress people and causing ripple effects elsewhere as well as allying herself with bigots (and by extension the hate groups they are apart of) just doesn't matter because what if a Harry Potter fan is sad if we say "enough is enough"? Fans who likely know just what the implications of her actions mean, given that even news stations have covered her outbursts. I am not personally going to debate any further on this topic, but after everything she's done this year so far, I felt the need to say something.