“Harry Potter” author JK Rowling is desperately trying to convince everyone she’s not as bad as we think she is. “The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling” aims to clarify many of her personal beliefs. On the podcast, distributed by The Free Press, she will speak with “unprecedented candor and depth about the controversies surrounding her — from book bans to debates on gender and sex.”
“I never set out to upset anyone” Rowling says in the trailer for the podcast. “I was not uncomfortable with getting off my pedestal.”
Rowlings’ TERF stance has certainly alienated LGBTQ fans and supporters. Calls for boycotts of the Rowling-created universe are finally starting to make a difference. So much so, the newest Wizarding World game “Hogwart’s Legacy” isn’t selling as well as initially hoped for. For those who don’t know the term, TERF is a Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminist. A feminist who doesn’t view Trans women as real women and wants them to have less rights than women who were assigned female at birth.
Sales for “Harry Potter” franchise have fallen. (Maybe not dramatically fallen, but they have started to earn less which makes it a less lucrative property and can determine future plans for it.) Companies that have collaborated with Harry Potter in the last year are being shunned. Rowling even doubled down on her opinion in her newest book, “The Ink Black Heart,” in which she features a transphobic character who is cancelled for their point of view. That book is under her nom de plume, Robert Gailbraith.
“Hogwarts Legacy” features the first trans character (probably to appease fans, as the character was not originally planned), the game must not be performing as well as expected. People are posting spoilers for the game ruining the experience for anyone who actually wanted to play. This podcast could be Rowling attempting to do damage control.
On a separate note, for those who actually practice witchcraft and are members of the LGBTQ community, the chosen name for the podcast comes across badly. And there are some who started disliking news about her before the whole TERF thing happened. Right around the time when she told fans wizards and witches would just sh*t themselves and magic it away. Yes, she really said that.
This podcast could be an opportunity for an apology to the people that she’s hurt with her actions. It could very well “un-cancel” her. “The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling” will be available to stream on Spotify starting February 21st.
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