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JK Rowling takes dig at Emma Watson for supporting scandal-hit Mermaids charity

'They couldn't have achieved it without the money and public support of certain corporations and celebrities, who eagerly boosted,' the author tweeted

SCOTLAND, UNITED KINGDOM: ‘Harry Potter’ writer JK Rowling has taken a subtle dig at actress Emma Watson after it was revealed that a trustee of a children’s transgender charity, which the actress supports, had connections with a pedophile organization. The author took to Twitter to condemn the celebrities, including Watson, who played Hermione Granger in the ‘Harry Potter’ series, after a report by The Times disclosed that Dr Jacob Breslow, who was associated with the British charity Mermaids, has quit.

The reported reason behind Breslow’s resignation was that in 2011, he participated in a conference for B4U-ACT —  which demands a dignified life for pedophiles. The website of the organization states that “as an alliance of therapists, researchers, and MAPs, B4U-ACT’s mission is to promote a science-informed understanding about people in our communities with an attraction to children or adolescents, and to support them living in truth and dignity.”

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At the conference, the former trustee had also apparently used "minor-attracted persons" instead of pedophiles during his presentation. At the time, Breslow was a PhD student at the London School of Economics (LSE), where he now works as an associate professor of gender and sexuality.

After the recent report came out, LSE said as reported by BBC, “We have been made aware of a presentation given at an external event in 2011 by a then graduate student, now faculty member of LSE. We are looking into these reports.”

Mermaid also issued a statement that noted, “Mermaids has been made aware of Dr Breslow's historical participation in a conference that is completely at odds with our values. Once notified we took swift and decisive action to investigate. Dr Breslow tendered his notice on the same day.”

“We will be reviewing our processes and procedures in light of this event to make them even more robust. Safeguarding is of the utmost importance to Mermaids and the safety of the young people we support is our highest priority,” the advocacy organization which was launched in 1995 added.

Rowling, who herself has faced controversies because of her remarks on transgender people, immediately called out the public figures for supporting Mermaid. The 57-year-old tweeted, “We've now learned that Mermaids appointed a pedophilia apologist as Trustee and that their online moderator encouraged kids to move onto a platform notorious for sexual exploitation. This is a charity that's achieved unprecedented influence in the UK."

“They couldn't have achieved it without the money and public support of certain corporations and celebrities, who eagerly boosted them even though the red flags have been there for years. Mermaids' fingers were all over the Tavistock Gender Identity Clinic debacle. They've been allowed into classrooms, trained police and had unprecedented influence over health policy, even though by their own admission they aren't a medical charity. We've also found out they're sending devices to flatten breasts to underage girls w/o parental consent,” she added.

Besides, several people supported Rowling with one saying, “Thank you, J.K. for calling it out!  It's a disgrace that such apologists are allowed a platform and able to influence the youth! It's become an anything-goes society where morality and decency are cancelled; dark forces are at play.”

Another one wrote, “So glad JKR is on this . I don’t have the platform and I am nowhere near as eloquent. But I can let it be know you speak for the majority of us. I wish we had more JKR’s …”

“Thank you for speaking up. Your bravery and forthrightness is so energizing & inspiring,” a tweet added.

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.