JK Rowling’s career declared ‘dead’ via #RIPJKRowling hashtag

Harry Potter author JK Rowling is at the centre of another social media pile-on, with a grim hashtag circulating after her latest move.

J.K. Rowling fans are out for blood.

The author, 55, has penned a book called Troubled Blood slated for release this week about a male serial killer who dresses as a woman while on violent killing sprees.

A day before the book’s release, fans and foes lambasted Rowling, who has previously made a slew of controversial comments about the transgender community, and declared her “dead” by sending #RIPJKRowling to the top of the Twitter trending charts.

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JK Rowling’s transphobic comments have sparked fury several times this year. Picture: AFP.

“In memory of jk rowling. she ain’t dead, but she killed her own career by proudly hating trans people & no one would really miss her that much anyway,” wrote one Twitter user.

“#RIPJKRowling she (ain’t) dead but her career is,” added another.

“Imagine getting cancelled so hard, we have to pretend that you died,” chimed in someone else.

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Rowling has fiercely defended her stance on trans issues. Picture: AFP.

Other fans were initially confused as to why the R.I.P. hashtag was trending while some even seemed to believe it. One Twitter user was amused that the social-media giant actually had to clarify Rowling was not dead in the trending section explanation.

for me it's how twitter had to specify that she's actually alive AHAHAHAHAHA #RIPJKRowling pic.twitter.com/MkWWyXpDof

— 🕷️Lily, Fluffy Spider Wife🕸️ BLM (@SapphoMode) September 14, 2020

Troubled Blood follows a private detective, Cormoran Strike, as he investigates a cisgender male serial killer who dons women’s clothing to kill female victims. Using the pseudonym Robert Galbraith, it’s the fifth book in Rowling’s Cormoran Strike series using the pen name.

In The Silkworm, the second novel in the series, Rowling portrays a trans character as being “unstable and aggressive.”

“The meat of the book is the investigation into a cold case: the disappearance of GP Margot Bamborough in 1974, thought to have been a victim of Dennis Creed, a transvestite serial killer,” wrote the Telegraph in a review of the novel.

“One wonders what critics of Rowling’s stance on trans issues will make of a book whose moral seems to be: never trust a man in a dress.”

Rowling’s latest work is not the first time her transphobia has reared its ugly head in her writing. Picture: AFP.

In June, Rowling defended past controversial transphobic comments in a lengthy essay, which also revealed that she was sexually assaulted as a young woman.

“I’m concerned about the huge explosion in young women wishing to transition and also about the increasing numbers who seem to be detransitioning (returning to their original sex), because they regret taking steps that have, in some cases, altered their bodies irrevocably, and taken away their fertility,” she wrote.

She and 100 other writers and scholars also penned an essay calling for the end of cancel culture, citing an “intolerance of opposing views,” in July.

This article originally appeared in the New York Post and was reproduced here with permission.