J.K. Rowling implies legal action against Coquitlam advocate over Twitter comments

COQUITLAM (NEWS 1130) — One of the best selling authors of all time is trading barbs on Twitter with an advocate and former BC Green Party candidate.

Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling replied to a tweet from transgender activist Nicola Spurling in which she said Rowling can’t be trusted around children.

Spurling tweeted an article from the Guardian about Rowling on Tuesday with the caption, “Definitely something to keep a close eye on. In recent years, Rowling has made it clear that she can no longer be trusted around children.”

This led to a heated exchange where Spurling repeatedly accused Rowling of being transphobic, while the author insisted Spurling was defaming her and insinuated a lawsuit may be coming.

Unless you want to hear from lawyers, you might want to rethink that tweet. I’m not wasting time arguing with wilful misrepresentations of my views on transgenderism – your timeline shows you’re not big on truth – but making serious insinuations like this comes with consequences.

— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) May 29, 2020

“Unless you want to hear from lawyers, you might want to rethink that tweet. I’m not wasting my time arguing with wilful misrepresentations of my views on transgenderism – your timelines show you’re not big on truth – but making serious insinuations like with comes with consequences,” Rowling wrote in a reply Friday.

Spurling fired back shortly after tweeting, “If you feel that the transphobia you’ve put into the world is not dangerous to children you are more than welcome to have your lawyer send me a cease & desist letter. I’m sure the media would love to write articles about how you attack l trans folks and then try to silence them.”

Rowling insisted Spurling provide evidence supporting her claims.

The author came under fire in December after tweeting support for a researcher who lost her job for stating that people cannot change their biological sex.

Later Friday, Spurling deleted the tweet saying “I stand behind the intent of the tweet, which is to highlight the dangerous nature of transphobia. Children are particularly vulnerable and must be accepted for who they are, not told that who they are is wrong. With great power comes great responsibility.”

At the request of @jk_rowling and on the advice of my lawyers, I have deleted my original tweet. The tweet, when read on its own, lacked clarity and, right or wrong, wealth is powerful.

— Nicola Spurling (@NicESpurling) May 30, 2020