JK Rowling – latest: Trans YouTuber apologises for contributing to new podcast about Harry Potter author
JK Rowling will give a rare interview in which she addresses her controversial remarks on transgender rights.
In a forthcoming seven-episode podcast titled The Witch Trials of JK Rowling, the Harry Potter author sits down with US writer Megan Phelps-Roper at her home in Edinburgh.
Phelps-Roper is the granddaughter of Fred Phelps – pastor of the notorious Westboro Baptist Church. After leaving the church in 2012, Phelps-Roper became a prominent critic of its philosophy and practices.
Podcast host Free Press describes The Witch Trials of JK Rowling, out on 21 February, as an “audio documentary that examines some of the most contentious conflicts of our time through the life and career of the world’s most successful author”.
“I never set out to upset anyone. However, I was not uncomfortable with getting off my pedestal,” Rowling says in the trailer.
“What has interested me in recent years, particularly on social media [is when fans say], ‘You’ve ruined your legacy. Oh, you could have been beloved forever, but you chose to say this.’ And I think: ‘You could not have misunderstood me more profoundly.’”
Trans YouTuber Natalie Wynn, who is known as ContraPoints, has apologised for agreeing to be interviewed for the podcast.
Follow the latest updates below:
Key points
Listen to a trailer for the podcast
What we know about host Megan Phelps-Roper
Rowling says she ‘never set out to upset anyone'
JK Rowling says her mother’s death ‘took a wrecking ball to my life’
08:50 , Thomas Kingsley
JK Rowling has opened up about losing her mother in her mid-twenties in a new podcast, The Witch Trials of JK Rowling.
The author of the famous Harry Potter books said the “early Nineties” were a bad period of time for her and “infused with loss” due to her mother dying of illness and a miscarriage over a year later.
Rowling, 57, told podcast host Megan Phelps-Roper: “I was in a real period of flux at the time, my mother was very ill, I had moved from London to Manchester. And then my mother died, actually on the night of 30 December 1990. But I didn’t realise she died until the early hours of New Year’s Eve.
“She was 45. She’d been ill for a very long time, but none of us realised that death was imminent. That kind of took a wrecking ball to my life, really. To me, this decade now is infused with loss.”
Read the full story below:
JK Rowling says her mother’s death ‘took a wrecking ball to my life’
Watch: ‘I never set out to upset anyone’: JK Rowling speaks out over trans controversy in podcast teaser
08:40 , Thomas Kingsley
JK Rowling reflects on traumatic miscarriage
08:13 , Thomas Kingsley
JK Rowling has reflected on going through a traumatic miscarriage in her twenties, before she gave birth to her daughter Jessica.
Speaking on a new podcast, the Harry Potter author recalled how “hugely traumatic” the miscarriage was, both “physically” and “emotionally”.
The loss came just a year after Rowling lost her mother to illness. She said the Nineties were a decade “infused with loss” for her.
In her appearance on the seven-part podcast The Witch Trials of JK Rowling, hosted by political activist Megan Phelps-Roper, Rowling said she became pregnant “accidentally” a year after moving in with her then-boyfriend.
“While pregnant, he proposed to me. And then I lost the baby,” she recalled. “ I miscarried, which was hugely traumatic. It was traumatic physically and traumatic emotionally, and that was another massive loss. I was certainly not in a balanced state of mind.”
JK Rowling podcast host claims Harry Potter has helped save LGBT+ books
07:43 , Thomas Kingsley
The second episode of JK Rowling’s new podcast, The Witch Trials of JK Rowling, focuses on the 1997 release of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and the ensuing Christian backlash over its influence on children.
In the episode titled “Burn the Witch”, host Megan Phelps-Roper posits that the book’s legal wins against censorship-seeking evangelists created “precedent”, which now protects LGBT+ literature.
“In the late 1990s and into the early 2000s, in what has become a largely forgotten chapter in the Harry Potter legacy, a passionate and motivated group of American Christians did everything they could to stop the popularity and ubiquity of Harry Potter,” Phelps-Roper, an activist best known for escaping the infamous Westboro Baptist Church led by her grandfather Fred Phelps, says in the episode.
Read the full story below:
JK Rowling podcast host argues Harry Potter saved LGBT+ books from being banned
How The New York Times was rocked by JK Rowling trans row
07:00 , Ellie Harrison
An editorial in The New York Times that defended the views of the author has reignited a war of words between the newspaper and its staff over the coverage of transgender issues.
Staff and contributors penned a letter this week criticising the publication’s coverage.
The letter, addressed to The Times’ associate managing editor for standards, said the signatories had “serious concerns” about what they described as “editorial bias” in its coverage.
Read the full story here:
How The New York Times was rocked by JK Rowling trans row
06:00 , Roisin O'Connor
Listen to the podcast trailer here
The Witch Trials of JK Rowling premieres on Tuesday, 21 February, 2023. The first two episodes land on that day, with the rest airing weekly.
Hear the Harry Potter author speaking in a trailer for the podcast below...
05:00 , Roisin O'Connor
JK Rowling is the subject of a new podcast that will interview the Harry Potter author about her views on the transgender community.
In the forthcoming seven-episode podcast titled The Witch Trials of JK Rowling, she sits down with US writer Megan Phelps-Roper at her home in Edinburgh.
Podcast host Free Press describes The Witch Trials of JK Rowling, out on 21 February, as an “audio documentary that examines some of the most contentious conflicts of our time through the life and career of the world’s most successful author”.
“I never set out to upset anyone. However, I was not uncomfortable with getting off my pedestal,” Rowling says in the trailer.
Here is a timeline of the controversial comments the author has made about trans rights.
A timeline of JK Rowling’s comments about women and transgender rights
04:00 , Roisin O'Connor
What Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe has said about Rowling’s views on transgender issues
Harry Potter film star Daniel Radcliffe wrote an essay for The Trevor Project in 2020, in support of trans people.
“Transgender women are women,” he wrote. “Any statement to the contrary erases the identity and dignity of transgender people and goes against all advice given by professional health care associations who have far more expertise on this subject matter than either [Rowling] or I.
“It’s clear that we need to do more to support transgender and nonbinary people, not invalidate their identities, and not cause further harm.”
03:00 , Roisin O'Connor
JK Rowling said she agreed to the interview as she hoped it would be ‘constructive’
Posting on Twitter last week, Rowling wrote: “Last year, I received a long, thoughtful letter from @Meganphelps, inviting me to take part in a personal, in-depth discussion with her about the issues that have interested me in recent years.
“Megan proposed bringing in other voices, and looking at the wider picture, bringing her own unique viewpoint as a former fundamentalist who’s dedicated her life over the past decade to difficult conversations.
“I agreed to sit down with Megan because, having read her wonderful book, Unfollow, I thought the two of us could have a real, interesting, two-sided conversation that might prove constructive.”
Mark Hamill recently defended himself for liking a post by JK Rowling
01:00 , Ellie Harrison
The Star Wars actor defended himself after he became the centre of fan ire for liking a tweet from JK Rowling that some users deemed “transphobic”.
Read the full story below...
Mark Hamill explains why he ‘liked’ controversial JK Rowling post
Monday 20 February 2023 23:00 , Roisin O'Connor
An editorial in The New York Times that defended the views of the author has reignited a war of words between the newspaper and its staff over the coverage of transgender issues.
Staff and contributors penned a letter this week criticising the publication’s coverage.
The letter, addressed to The Times’ associate managing editor for standards, said the signatories had “serious concerns” about what they described as “editorial bias” in its coverage.
Read the full story here:
How The New York Times was rocked by JK Rowling trans row
ContraPoints distances herself from podcast
Monday 20 February 2023 22:00 , Ellie Harrison
Trans YouTuber Natalie Wynn, who is known as ContraPoints, has apologised for agreeing to be interviewed for the podcast. “I agreed,” she wrote on Twitter. “This was a serious lapse in judgement.”
Monday 20 February 2023 21:00 , Roisin O'Connor
Here is a timeline of the controversial comments the author has made about trans rights:
A timeline of JK Rowling’s comments about women and transgender rights
Megan Phelps-Roper says new podcast was ‘never intended to vindicate’ author
Monday 20 February 2023 20:00 , Ellie Harrison
Phelps-Roper has given an interview about the new podcast, in which she said: “This was never a defence of JK Rowling. It was never intended to vindicate her.
“It’s an attempt to understand what’s happening, and to do that you need the perspectives of so many other people – on all sides – because the issues are so complex.”
Read the full story below...
Megan Phelps-Roper says new podcast was ‘never intended to vindicate’ JK Rowling
What Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe has said about Rowling’s views on transgender issues
Monday 20 February 2023 19:00 , Ellie Harrison
Harry Potter film star Daniel Radcliffe wrote an essay for The Trevor Project in 2020, in support of trans people.
“Transgender women are women,” he wrote. “Any statement to the contrary erases the identity and dignity of transgender people and goes against all advice given by professional health care associations who have far more expertise on this subject matter than either [Rowling] or I.
“It’s clear that we need to do more to support transgender and nonbinary people, not invalidate their identities, and not cause further harm.”
What we know about the podcast’s host
Monday 20 February 2023 18:00 , Ellie Harrison
Phelps-Roper is best known for escaping the “most hated family in America”. She grew up on Rowling’s books, but was warned by her family that the author would go to hell for supporting gay rights.
Read more below...
Who is Megan Phelps-Roper? Westboro Baptist Church escapee to interview JK Rowling
Listen to the podcast trailer here
Monday 20 February 2023 17:00 , Ellie Harrison
The Witch Trials of JK Rowling premieres on Tuesday, 21 February, 2023. The first two episodes land on that day, with the rest airing weekly.
Hear the Harry Potter author speaking in a trailer for the podcast below...
Mark Hamill recently defended himself for liking a post by JK Rowling
Monday 20 February 2023 16:15 , Ellie Harrison
The Star Wars actor defended himself after he became the centre of fan ire for liking a tweet from JK Rowling that some users deemed “transphobic”.
Read the full story below...
Mark Hamill explains why he ‘liked’ controversial JK Rowling post
ContraPoints distances herself from podcast
Monday 20 February 2023 15:39 , Ellie Harrison
Trans YouTuber Natalie Wynn, who is known as ContraPoints, has apologised for agreeing to be interviewed for the podcast. “I agreed,” she wrote on Twitter. “This was a serious lapse in judgement.”
How The New York Times was rocked by JK Rowling trans row
Monday 20 February 2023 15:07 , Ellie Harrison
An editorial in The New York Times that defended the views of the author has reignited a war of words between the newspaper and its staff over the coverage of transgender issues.
Staff and contributors penned a letter this week criticising the publication’s coverage.
The letter, addressed to The Times’ associate managing editor for standards, said the signatories had “serious concerns” about what they described as “editorial bias” in its coverage.
Read the full story here:
How The New York Times was rocked by JK Rowling trans row
JK Rowling said she agreed to the interview as she hoped it would be ‘constructive'
Monday 20 February 2023 14:31 , Ellie Harrison
Posting on Twitter last week, Rowling wrote: “Last year, I received a long, thoughtful letter from @Meganphelps, inviting me to take part in a personal, in-depth discussion with her about the issues that have interested me in recent years.
“Megan proposed bringing in other voices, and looking at the wider picture, bringing her own unique viewpoint as a former fundamentalist who’s dedicated her life over the past decade to difficult conversations.
“I agreed to sit down with Megan because, having read her wonderful book, Unfollow, I thought the two of us could have a real, interesting, two-sided conversation that might prove constructive.”
Everything we know about the podcast
Monday 20 February 2023 13:34 , Ellie Harrison
From how to stream it to what to expect from its host and its subject, find the full story below:
When is JK Rowling’s podcast launching?
JK Rowling and the NYT controversy
Monday 20 February 2023 12:55 , Ellie Harrison
The New York Times published an article this month titled “In defence of JK Rowling”, defending the Harry Potter author’s reputation against accusations of transphobia.
Read Julia Bell’s thoughts on the topic here...
Opinion: JK Rowling and the New York Times furore: How did we get here?
What we know about host Megan Phelps-Roper
Monday 20 February 2023 11:40 , Ellie Harrison
Megan Phelps-Roper is 37 and she lives in rural South Dakota. She is best known for escaping what Louis Theroux called “the most hated family in America” in his 2007 documentary on the extremist Westboro Baptist Church, led by Phelps-Roper’s grandfather Fred Phelps.
The hate group, founded in Topeka, Kansas, picketed the funerals of soldiers and Aids victims. It is known for its hate speech against atheists, Jews, Muslims, transgender people, and numerous Christian denominations. Their theology and practises have been rejected almost universally by Christian churches.
Phelps-Roper distanced herself from the group in 2012, largely thanks to discovering other points of view on Twitter, which she had joined three years earlier to spread the church’s message.
She has written a book about her experience, Unfollow, and she is now a speaker and activist.
For the podcast, Phelps-Roper travelled to Rowling’s Edinburgh castle and, for six days in May and August, conducted intimate interviews with the author.
The podcast is out on 21 February.
Listen to the podcast trailer here
Monday 20 February 2023 11:07 , Ellie Harrison
The Witch Trials of JK Rowling premieres on Tuesday, 21 February, 2023. The first two episodes land on that day, with the rest airing weekly.
Hear the Harry Potter author speaking in a trailer for the podcast below...
What Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe has said about Rowling’s views on transgender issues
Monday 20 February 2023 10:20 , Ellie Harrison
Harry Potter film star Daniel Radcliffe wrote an essay for The Trevor Project in 2020, in support of trans people.
“Transgender women are women,” he wrote. “Any statement to the contrary erases the identity and dignity of transgender people and goes against all advice given by professional health care associations who have far more expertise on this subject matter than either [Rowling] or I.
“It’s clear that we need to do more to support transgender and nonbinary people, not invalidate their identities, and not cause further harm.”
Megan Phelps-Roper says new podcast was ‘never intended to vindicate’ author
Monday 20 February 2023 09:45 , Ellie Harrison
Phelps-Roper has given an interview about the new podcast, in which she said: “This was never a defence of JK Rowling. It was never intended to vindicate her.
“It’s an attempt to understand what’s happening, and to do that you need the perspectives of so many other people – on all sides – because the issues are so complex.”
Read the full story below...
Megan Phelps-Roper says new podcast was ‘never intended to vindicate’ JK Rowling
JK Rowling said she agreed to the interview as she hoped it would be ‘constructive'
Monday 20 February 2023 09:15 , Ellie Harrison
Posting on Twitter last week, Rowling wrote: “Last year, I received a long, thoughtful letter from @Meganphelps, inviting me to take part in a personal, in-depth discussion with her about the issues that have interested me in recent years.
“Megan proposed bringing in other voices, and looking at the wider picture, bringing her own unique viewpoint as a former fundamentalist who’s dedicated her life over the past decade to difficult conversations.
“I agreed to sit down with Megan because, having read her wonderful book, Unfollow, I thought the two of us could have a real, interesting, two-sided conversation that might prove constructive.”
What we know about host Megan Phelps-Roper
Monday 20 February 2023 08:45 , Ellie Harrison
Megan Phelps-Roper is 37 and she lives in rural South Dakota. She is best known for escaping what Louis Theroux called “the most hated family in America” in his 2007 documentary on the extremist Westboro Baptist Church, led by Phelps-Roper’s grandfather Fred Phelps.
The hate group, founded in Topeka, Kansas, picketed the funerals of soldiers and Aids victims. It is known for its hate speech against atheists, Jews, Muslims, transgender people, and numerous Christian denominations. Their theology and practises have been rejected almost universally by Christian churches.
Phelps-Roper distanced herself from the group in 2012, largely thanks to discovering other points of view on Twitter, which she had joined three years earlier to spread the church’s message.
She has written a book about her experience, Unfollow, and she is now a speaker and activist.
For the podcast, Phelps-Roper travelled to Rowling’s Edinburgh castle and, for six days in May and August, conducted intimate interviews with the author.
The podcast is out on 21 February.
Listen to the podcast trailer here
Monday 20 February 2023 08:11 , Ellie Harrison
The Witch Trials of JK Rowling premieres Tuesday, 21 February, 2023.
Hear the Harry Potter author speaking in a trailer for the podcast below...
JK Rowling to discuss trans views in new podcast
Monday 20 February 2023 07:49 , Ellie Harrison
JK Rowling is addressing the controversy surrounding her stance on transgender rights head-on in a forthcoming podcast entitled The Witch Trials of JK Rowling.
The Harry Potter author has faced a sustained backlash in recent years for statements she has made about gender ideology that critics and prominent voices in the LGBT+ community have described as “transphobic”.
“I never set out to upset anyone. However, I was not uncomfortable with getting off my pedestal,” Rowling says in the trailer for the podcast, which is hosted by Free Press.
Free Press is the independent media company founded by former New York Times opinions editor Bari Weiss, who is known for writing provocative columns about “woke culture” and gender issues.
Full story:
JK Rowling says statements about trans people have been ‘profoundly’ misunderstood
