What did Carolyn Harris say about JK Rowling? Harry Potter creator slams politician for allegedly pretending "men can be women"

British author and philanthropist JK Rowling recently called out the Welsh politician Carolyn Harris for her comments on gender views. On October 15, 2025, X account Concerned Citizen shared a video of Carolyn Harris’s interview with television presenter Jeremy Vine discussing the gender-critical views of the Harry Potter creator.

During the show, when Jeremy Vine noted how the 60-year-old British author is known for her perspective on gender identity, adding:

“She believes it’s absolutely factual that if you’re born a man, you can’t ever be a woman. That’s the matter. She says it’s a matter of fact.”

Carolyn Harris replied:

“Well, biologically, she’s correct. Yeah. But there are human beings here that feel that they are a woman. And I’m not saying that they’re right or they’re wrong.”

Talking about her views on JK Rowling's gender identification debate, the 65-year-old politician added:

“What I’m saying is when you introduce this level of hate into a debate, rationality goes out of the window, and it becomes just an adversarial argument. There is no right or wrong in this.”

Meanwhile, on Sunday, October 26, 2025, the 60-year-old multimillionaire creator of the Harry Potter franchise reshared the video and slammed the politician for allegedly pretending “men can be women.” Replying to the politician’s jab at her, JK Rowling wrote:

“It is not ‘hate’ to speak the truth. It is not ‘hate’ to defend the rights of women and girls. It is not ‘hate’ to be deeply worried about an unevidenced medical experiment on minors. Rationality goes out of the window when you pretend men can be women.”

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JK Rowling’s views on transgender issues explored

JK Rowling AT HBO's 'Finding The Way Home' World Premiere (Image via Getty)

According to The Guardian, JK Rowling has allegedly come under attack for transphobia. People have questioned her using provocative language, claims about transitioning, and detransitioning.

While The Guardian reports that Rowling had denied that she is transphobic and respects “every trans person’s right to live any way that feels authentic and comfortable to them,” her views on the gender identification debate have seemingly become a subject of argument.

Meanwhile, Rowling first publicly got into the gender identification debate in December 2019 when she reportedly showed support for Maya Forstater, a tax specialist who lost her job for commenting that transgender women could not change their biological sex.

The British author has also reportedly outlined her concerns over the “trans activism” in a long essay, which she shared on her website in June 2020. Last month, in September, Emma Watson, who rose to fame portraying Hermione Granger in all eight Harry Potter movies, discussed her complicated relationship with Rowling during a sit-down interview on Jay Shetty’s On Purpose podcast.

While the star has distanced herself from the author in recent years due to her views on transgender issues, Watson said:

“I really don’t believe that by having had that experience and holding the love and support and views that I have, mean that I can’t and don’t treasure Jo and the person that I had personal experiences with.”

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Notably, besides Emma Watson, JK Rowling has also received backlash from actors in the Harry Potter movie franchise, including Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint. They have also made public their support for transgender rights.

Edited by Afreen Shaikh