JK Rowling 'death threat' video: Outrage after Twitter allows trans activist's sinister post
Twitter has been chastised for failing to sustain a complaint about an alleged 'death threat' made against author JK Rowling in a trans activist's music video. Faye 'Trust Fund Ozu,' a trans activist, used the threatening remarks in a 90s-themed video dubbed 'JK Rowling diss track.'
The performer sings about 'killing TERFS' [Trans exclusionary radical feminists] and 'JK hope you fit in a hearse' against an animated backdrop in the video. "I'm afraid I can't give a shout out to everyone promising to murder me - there are so many of you, and I'm a busy woman – but this one deserves a mention for the nineties rave vibe," the Harry Potter novelist wrote on Twitter.
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I'm afraid I can't give a shout out to everyone promising to murder me - there are so many of you, and I'm a busy woman - but this one deserves a mention for the nineties rave vibe, @TrustFundOzu. pic.twitter.com/Ium6oIHFOS
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) April 2, 2022
The activist's tweet was reported on Twitter by actor James Dreyfus, but the social media network did not uphold the complaint because it had not 'broken its safety policies.' "Surprise, Surprise!" tweeted Dreyfus in response to the remark, "So, death threats = Good. Saying 'women are women' = Bad. Congratulations Twitter Support. You’ve hit rock bottom. Seek help."
Surprise, Surprise!
— James Dreyfus (@DreyfusJames) April 2, 2022
So, death threats=Good.
Saying ‘women are women’=Bad. @Twitter @TwitterSupport
Congratulations. You’ve hit rock bottom. Seek help.
🙄night all. X pic.twitter.com/VbkFtOIcbQ
Some users agreed with James and wondered why such content was permitted on the platform. One user wrote, "Why on earth is this acceptable to Twitter?" and another user wrote, "Twitter publishes editorial and should be regulated."
Ffs. Why on earth is this acceptable to Twitter?
— Jozinhagirl (Activist Lawyer) (@Jozinhagirl) April 2, 2022
Twitter publishes editorial and should be regulated.
— Children Need Safeguarding KPSS (@teaandabikkie) April 3, 2022
Actor James Dreyfus has been a vocal defender of JK Rowling, describing trans activists as "misogynistic guys in skirts" for criticizing Rowling's gender beliefs, which sparked outrage among the trans community. According to the 52-year-old 'Gimme, Gimme, Gimme' actor, those involved were "angry, young, anarchist people" who despised women and "what they represent." He also accused them of being behind a 'put them back in their place' campaign that included threats to kill and rape women.
In February, he said during a Campaign for Common Sense 'In Discussion' Zoom meeting that society appeared to be 'going backwards.' He remarked, "These people speak for nobody but themselves. All my trans friends are as horrified and embarrassed as me. They want none of this having to label everything. Women are going 'please listen to us' but the response is 'No, we won't listen.'"
Last year, a group of trans activists chastised Dreyfus for signing a statement in favor of JK Rowling following a reaction to her views on trans people, which was signed by 50 actors, writers, and journalists. In June 2020, the Harry Potter author made waves when she parodied an online article by using the phrase "people who menstruate" instead of "women."
‘People who menstruate.’ I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) June 6, 2020
Opinion: Creating a more equal post-COVID-19 world for people who menstruate https://t.co/cVpZxG7gaA
After writing, "I'm sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?," she was subjected to what she described as "relentless abuse." To address the uproar, the celebrated novelist wrote a very personal article, indicating that she supported the right to transition but opposed measures she believed were damaging to women. The author explained how she was sexually raped in her twenties and how she now bears the wounds of her previous marriage's 'domestic violence.'
She wrote, "If sex isn’t real, there’s no same-sex attraction. If sex isn’t real, the lived reality of women globally is erased. I know and love trans people, but erasing the concept of sex removes the ability of many to meaningfully discuss their lives. It isn’t hate to speak the truth. The idea that women like me, who’ve been empathetic to trans people for decades, feeling kinship because they’re vulnerable in the same way as women - ie, to male violence - 'hate' trans people because they think sex is real and has lived consequences - is nonsense."
She concluded, "I respect every trans person’s right to live any way that feels authentic and comfortable to them. I’d march with you if you were discriminated against on the basis of being trans. At the same time, my life has been shaped by being female. I do not believe it’s hateful to say so."
Transgender rights have now become a divisive subject, with activists, legislators, and academics arguing everything from pronouns to single-sex places to transgender women's sports participation.