Rowling received a death threat because of her advocacy for Sir Salman Rushdie in the advertisement, and Harris, who is under pressure to quit, wrote about it on social media.
Joanne Harris, author of the Chocolat book, has come under fire from J.K. Rowling for allegedly “betraying” female authors by sharing a ‘tasteless’ Twitter poll concerning death threats.
Following a ‘online threat’ made to the Harry Potter author that police are looking into, Harris, who is receiving demands for her resignation, commented on social media.
After Sir Salman Rushdie was stabbed on Friday, the author was tweeting her support for him when she got the message “don’t worry, you are next.”
58-year-old trans rights activist Harris then asked other writers whether they had ever received a serious death threat.
Yes, Hell, Yes, No, Never, and Show Me, Dammit were the available responses, indicating scepticism about how serious the threats were.
“I was astonished to read this,” Rowling told the Times, “since I’ve got no message at all from Harris expressing sorrow for the murder and rape threats I’ve received.”
She continued by saying that after being “silenced and bullied” due to their ideas, women who disagree with Harris on gender identity felt “betrayed” by her for failing to demonstrate “solidarity” in her role as head of the Society of Authors.
after his Friday stabbing.
After Harris sent her Tweet, numerous authors criticised her, including the radical feminist Julie Bindel, who called it “disgustingly disrespectful.”
The poll was then removed and replaced with a different version. Novelist Simon Edge, who has published books on the trans topic, called the poll “indefensible” and said it’s “about time” the author of Chocolat resigned from her Society of Authors position.
In her response to Harris’ survey, Rowling said that the author ‘consistently failed’ to support female writers like Rachel Rooney and Gillian Philip who did not share her own views on gender identity ideology.
As a result of their opposition to “a popular ideology that has been extremely effective in demonising those who protest against the present onslaught on women’s rights,” she also alleged that Rooney and Philip faced “serious personal and professional hardship.”
Rowling said, “Harris has repeatedly failed to condemn strategies used to bully and silence women who have opposing views to her own on gender identity ideology and has openly stated, “The term “cancel” is not impure. We frequently terminate stuff we no longer desire”.
“I find it hard to reconcile the society’s claimed stance on free speech with Harris’s public declarations over the last two years and stand in solidarity with all female authors in the UK who today feel betrayed by their professional organisation and its head,” the author writes.
After Rowling’s comments, Harris, who uses the pronouns they/they and identifies as genderfluid, tweeted to her followers, “I support trans rights.”
I also have a kid who just came out as trans. However, my personal opinions about the gender-critical movement have no bearing on my support for free speech or the work I undertake for the Society of Authors.
We actively support free speech. Free speech does, however, come with an equal right to rebuttal.
J.K. Rowling has every right to express her thoughts, she continued. I’m alright with not sharing them, however.
And as I do with everyone, I vehemently reject any threats made against her.
I believe the literary community is capable of more than this manufactured cultural war, and that is what I’m attempting.
‘It may be tiring at times. But it doesn’t mean your rights won’t be defended with the same ferocity as everyone else’s simply because I won’t support you, use your hashtag, or be a part of your gang. because politics is not as vital as rights. We are all partners in this.
I don’t detest JK Rowling, and I’ve never stated or intimated as much, she said earlier.
The Society of Authors responded to Harris’ request for comment and “reiterated” their Commitment advice on handling online abuse, harassment, and bullying to Professional Behaviour in Publishing, Dignity and Respect policy, and its categorical “condemnation of violence and the threat of violence.”
A Karachi-based Islamic extremist named Meer Asif Aziz, who supports Iran, wrote Rowling a death threat. He identified himself on Twitter as a “student, social activist, political activist, and research activist.”
Additionally, he has made insensitive “jokes” on how to destroy Israel and called it, along with India, Pakistan’s main geopolitical adversary, and the Ukraine, which Vladimir Putin has savaged, “terrorist states.”
When she received the threat on Twitter, the 57-year-old Harry Potter author had already voiced her shock at the heinous attempt on Sir Salman’s life in upstate New York.
She said that the social media platform deemed the extremist did not break the rules after being alerted to the horrible threat.
The following was said in the email from Twitter: “We reviewed the facts at our disposal and found that the material you reported did not violate any Twitter policies.
We appreciate your assistance and invite you to get in touch with us once again if you see any possible infractions in the future.
Rowling commented on the answer by posting a screenshot and asking, “These are your rules, right?”
Violence: Threatening to use violence against a person or a group of persons is prohibited. Additionally, we forbid glorifying violence. You may not threaten or advocate for terrorism. Violent extremism.
Aziz also seems to support Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the country’s supreme leader, who routinely raves incoherently against Israel in murderous tweets.
For instance, Aziz reacted to one of Khamenei’s posts about the “oppressive Yazidis” by using the heart emoji.
Aziz also gushed in response to another tweet from the Iranian dictator, saying, “Dear leader, your struggle for the Islamic world will not be in vain until we young generation are with you.”
“Horrifying news,” said Rowling in a post on Sir Salman’s stabbing. feeling extremely ill at the moment. Let him recover.”
Don’t worry, you’re next, Aziz said after referring to Sir Salman’s suspected assailant Hadi Matar, 24, as a “revolutionary Shia warrior.”
Rowling wrote: “To everyone sending supportive messages: thank you Police are involved (were previously engaged on earlier threats)” after posting screenshots of the threatening tweet.
Police Scotland received a complaint of an internet threat, and investigators are now looking into it, according to a spokeswoman.
WBD executives stated they’strongly oppose’ the threats made against the author. WBD is the entertainment business that produced the Harry Potter movie adaptations.
We support her and other writers, storytellers, and artists who fearlessly express their talents and thoughts, the media conglomerate’s representative said.
“WBD supports people who voice their opinions in public and upholds the right to free speech and civil conversation.”
Following the horrific act of murder in New York, “Our sympathies are with Sir Salman Rushdie and his family.”
When ideas, beliefs, and sentiments could vary, the firm vehemently rejects any type of threat, violence, or intimidation.
Rowling is one among the famous people and writers who have expressed shock at Sir Salman’s stabbing.
The British novelist of Indian ancestry, whose work in the 1980s prompted death threats from Iran, was assaulted as he prepared to give a lecture at the Chautauqua Institution in New York State, 65 miles from Buffalo.
The 75-year-old was “off the ventilator and talking (and laughing),” according to British-American novelist Aatish Taseer in a since-deleted tweet, which was later verified by the author’s agent Andrew Wylie.
According to Mr. Wylie, Rushdie has a damaged liver, severed nerves in an arm and an eye, and is probably going to lose the eye.
Hadi Matar, 24, of Fairview, New Jersey, the man suspected of stabbing him, entered a not guilty plea on Saturday to counts of attempted murder and assault in what the prosecution described as a “pre-planned” act.
Sir Salman Rushdie’s son Zafar Rushdie said on social media on Sunday: “Following the assault on Friday, my father is in critical condition in hospital requiring significant continuous medical care.”
We are overjoyed that he was removed off the ventilator and extra oxygen on Sunday and that he was able to utter a few words.
Although he has suffered catastrophic, life-altering injuries, his characteristically feisty and rebellious sense of humour is still there.
“We are very appreciative of the love and support we have received from all around the globe, as well as the courageous audience members who valiantly sprang to his defence and gave him first aid.
“As the family gathers at his bedside to support and help him through this time, we ask for continued patience and privacy.”
58 authors, journalists, and actors published a letter in the Sunday Times in 2020 in Rowling’s defence, denouncing the “onslaught of abuse” she had endured for expressing her gendered views.
Three days later, Miss Harris contributed to a statement supporting the rights of trans and non-binary people that more than 200 public figures published.