J.K. Rowling was ripped on social media Monday upon the release of her new fictional book about a male serial killer disguised as a woman, renewing criticism of the “Harry Potter” author’s earlier remarks about the transgender community.
The premise of “Troubled Blood” — written under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith and the fifth installment of Rowling’s “Cormoran Strike” detective series — prompted backlash on social media, with the hashtag #RIPJKRowling trending on Twitter.
The “Harry Potter” author faced a storm of criticism earlier this year for a tweet she posted questioning the language used on a blog post that referred to “people who menstruate.”
Rowling, 55, has been accused of making transphobic comments on other occasions. In December, she faced backlash after promoting a researcher fired for what a judge called an “absolutist” view of transgender people and gender.
In June, she penned an essay to defend herself while sharing she was a victim of sexual assault 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.
Some took to Twitter on Monday to defend Rowling’s right to free speech and expression of thought.