Two of the biggest Harry Potter fan websites, Leaky Caldron and Mugglenet, has said they will essentially erase J.
K Rowling as much as possible on their websites. They have cited the recent comments from the author over transgenders as the main reason why.
Both websites announced that Rowling will only be referred when it is absolutely necessary as she is the creator of the Harry Potter universe. All traces of her outside her creation has been deleted, including her picture and redirect links to her personal webpage.
Commentators have interpreted this turn as an extreme case of the so-called ‘cancel culture’, in which a batch of people ‘cancel’ an individual out if they do not agree or approve of their actions and words.
It is especially noteworthy because the two websites combined have more than 1 million fans on Facebook. The administrators of the websites explained that Rowling’s recent comments were not those reflected in her works, thus justifying what seems like a rather absurd hostility.
The comment that has put Rowling in the middle of this controversy originates from a long blog post that she posted, in which she argued that it is both harmful and dangerous to completely eradicate the concept of sex, saying that it removes a big part of one’s identity.
Rowling further explained that being woman – especially as the survivor of domestic abuse and sexual assault – is a traumatic yet important aspect of her life. In a tweet, she added how speaking the truth cannot be considered spewing hatred.
LGBTQ+ activists have criticized Rowling’s viewpoints and characterized her words as transphobic. Actors of Harry Potter films, including Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson, have joined the advocacy groups in disagreeing with Rowling.
She has also received criticism from authors that were part of her literary agency, four of whom who quit after Rowling refused to issue a public statement in support of transgender people.
The joint statement from the websites said that while they do not support the vile personal attacks the author received over her comments, they also must disagree and forcefully reject Rowling’s notion that sex is a fixed and given trait.
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Replaced!