JK Rowling says she took pills for depression after Internet slams her for calling people on medication 'lazy'
JK Rowling defended her stance on mental health medication in a series of tweets on July 5, Sunday, after a Twitter user accused her of calling people who take mental health medication "lazy." The Harry Potter creator defended herself, saying that she will not ignore tweets defaming her anymore. "I've ignored fake tweets attributed to me and RTed widely," she wrote. "I've ignored porn tweeted at children on a thread about their art. I've ignored death and rape threats. I'm not going to ignore this."
The author then tweeted a screenshot of a Twitter user @TrinerScot commenting on her profile saying: "Who had money on JK Rowling pivoting to supporting those who call people who take mental health medication 'lazy'? I take daily medication to function, this sentiment is beyond offensive, it is actively harmful to millions."
Rowling slammed the defamatory tweet and said that she herself has been open about her mental health challenges. She wrote: "When you lie about what I believe about mental health medication and when you misrepresent the views of a trans woman for whom I feel nothing but admiration and solidarity, you cross a line. I’ve written and spoken about my own mental health challenges, which include OCD, depression, and anxiety. I did so recently in my essay ‘TERF Wars’. I’ve taken anti-depressants in the past and they helped me." Her trans comment was in reference to her recent anti-transgender comments. Rowling had previously shown support for Maya Forstater, a researcher at a think tank, for stating that people cannot change their biological sex. Forstater later lost her job.
"Many health professionals are concerned that young people struggling with their mental health are being shunted towards hormones and surgery when this may not be in their best interests," Rowling added in her series of tweets on July 5. The author also appeared to refer to trans surgeries as "a new kind of conversion therapy for young gay people."
"Many, myself included, believe we are watching a new kind of conversion therapy for young gay people, who are being set on a lifelong path of medicalisation that may result in the loss of their fertility and/or full sexual function," she wrote. "These concerns were explored by the recent BBC documentary about the Tavistock Clinic. Whistleblowers were talking about transitions driven by homophobia. As I’ve said many times, transition may be the answer for some. For others, it won’t – witness the accounts of detransitioners. The system sees surgery as the easy fix to girls who do not conform.”
"The long-term health risks of cross-sex hormones have been now been tracked over a lengthy period. These side-effects are often minimised or denied by trans activists.Carl Henegan, professor of evidence-based medicine at Oxford University, has described the off-label use of puberty blockers on under-18s as an ‘unregulated live experiment on children. None of that may trouble you or disturb your belief in your own righteousness. But if so, I can’t pretend I care much about your bad opinion of me," Rowling added.
The Harry Potter author, last week, had waked back on her praise of Stephen King after he spoke out against her anti-transgender sentiments. King, on June 29, took to Twitter to write: "Trans women are women," after a fan of the author asked him to address "the TERF tweet," referring to Rowling's social media posts earlier in June, which was considered transphobic by many. Rowling, after King's tweet, deleted a previous tweet where she had praised the author.