JK Rowling has responded to the backlash she received after sharing her views on gender identity, saying she “never meant to upset anyone”.
The 57-year-old is one of the most successful authors of all time – the seven Harry Potter books published between 1997 and 2007 sold more than 500 million copies worldwide.
However, she has come under fire for her views on gender identity, which came to light in a series of tweets she posted in 2020.
Speaking on a new podcast called The Witch Trials of JK Rowling, she said: “I never wanted to upset anyone.
“However, I didn’t feel uncomfortable stepping down from my podium.”
Among the tweets he wrote in June 2020 was one that said: “I know and love trans people, but erasing the concept of sex takes away the ability of many to meaningfully discuss their lives. It’s not hate telling the truth.” .
Rowling, who has always denied accusations of transphobia, told the podcast: “And what I’ve been interested in for the last 10 years and certainly the last few years, especially on social media: ‘You ruined your legacy, you could have been loved forever. , but you chose to say that,’ and I think you could not have misunderstood me more deeply.
“I don’t walk around my house thinking about my legacy. What a pompous way to live your life — to walk around thinking about what my legacy will be. Whatever it is. I’m going to die. I care now. I care about the living.” “
The film franchise starred Emma Watson, Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint. Photo: Warner Bros/Sky
The author also spoke about how her first husband, Jorge Arantes, would hide her unpublished manuscript for the first Harry Potter book to prevent her from leaving him.
The two married in October 1992 and she left him in November 1993, having already left twice but returned.
Rowling described her marriage to Arantes as “very violent, very controlling”, which worsened when she became pregnant with their daughter Jessica.
“I would keep writing. In fact, he knew what that manuscript meant to me because at one point he took the manuscript and hid it and that was his hostage.”
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When he decided to leave for the last time, he began to “take a few pages from the manuscript every day – just a few pages so that he wouldn’t know he was missing anything – and photocopy them”.
Rowling added: “And gradually in a cabinet in the staff room, little by little, a photocopied manuscript grew and grew and grew, because I suspected that if I couldn’t get out with everything, he would burn it or take it or hold it hostage .
“This manuscript still meant so much to me.
“The only thing I prioritized beyond that obviously was my daughter, but at that point she’s still inside me, so she’s as safe as she can be in this situation.”
In a 2000 interview, Arantes said their relationship was “always either heaven or hell.”
And speaking to the Daily Mail in 2020, he denied there was any domestic or sexual violence during their time together – but did admit he slapped her.