J.K. Rowling has decided to return a Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights award she was given in 2019 after his daughter, and the president of the organization, Kerry Kennedy criticized her in a written statement on their website.
As many will recall, the Harry Potter scribe’s comments about transgender women have outraged many in the LGBTQ community. She wrote that Rowling’s views on gender and sex are “deeply troubling,” adding: “Trans rights are human rights. J.K. Rowling’s attacks upon the transgender community are inconsistent with the fundamental beliefs and values of RFK Human Rights and represent a repudiation of my father’s vision. Women’s rights are not degraded by the recognition of trans rights. On the contrary: A commitment to human rights demands a commitment to combat discrimination in all its forms.”
The reactions on Twitter were divided. One supporter wrote:” This week in transgender delusions— @jk_rowling has been bullied into returning a humanitarian award bc she refuses to pretend that biological men can be women. Essentially, a mob of men just forced a woman into submission. Dear Feminism—where you at? “, while a critic opined: “JKR IS transphobic. What she is doing and saying IS hurting trans people. Her position is anti-science and anti-feminist.”
Rowling responded in a statement on her website, saying that Kennedy “incorrectly implied that I was transphobic, and that I am responsible for harm to trans people.”
She continued: “In solidarity with those who have contacted me but who are struggling to make their voices heard, and because of the very serious conflict of views between myself and RFKHR, I feel I have no option but to return the Ripple of Hope Award bestowed upon me last year. I am deeply saddened that RFKHR has felt compelled to adopt this stance, but no award or honour, no matter my admiration for the person for whom it was named, means so much to me that I would forfeit the right to follow the dictates of my own conscience.”