A new list of transphobic bigots dropped today! Yep, it’s another meaningless “support of J.K. Rowling” petition, despite the fact that J.K. Rowling does not need support. She already has everything she wanted: she’s a billionaire yacht owner, she’s made the UK a worse place for trans people to live, and any anger towards her gets a bunch of people crawling out of the woodwork to clutch their pearls and sign petitions.
The point of this particular petition is to defend Rowling from “hate speech directed against her and other women that Twitter and other platforms enable and implicitly endorse,” specifically noting the “appalling hashtag #RIPJKRowling.” The wording makes it very clear that the signers of this petition don’t include trans women in their picture of women targeted with hate speech because while a proud anti-trans bigot may have to see a mean hashtag, trans people are made to endure an endless stream of actual abuse on Elon Musk’s Twitter and beyond every damn day.
So who are the “celebrities” who have signed their names to this unsolicited defense? Comedian Barry Humphries is listed there, despite having passed away in April of this year. He was a transphobe despite being a famous drag performer, so I suppose he could have signed a few months in advance. John Cleese is on there, listing himself as a “squirrel-trainer,” presumably because he can’t resist being the center of attention even when he’s supposed to be solemnly supporting a woman, or perhaps because “comedian” no longer describes him. All-around woman-hater Graham Linehan is obviously on there. Interestingly, he’s still describing himself as a “writer,” which is funnier than any joke he’s ever told.
They’re in the august company of, among others, noted racist Lionel Shriver, the Holocaust-exploiting The Boy in the Striped Pajamas author John Boyne, a handful of folks (Gareth Roberts, Frances Barber) who it’s safe to say won’t be invited back to work on Doctor Who, and Julie Bindel, Rowling’s pal who believes bisexuality doesn’t exist. What a collection.
Some non-transphobic celebrities
But enough about these people. Seeing their names on this petition isn’t surprising in the least. Instead, let’s look at some celebrities who aren’t boasting about their bigotry. Back in 2020, a group of women signed a letter condemning violence against trans women. It states, “We are feminists and we write, on international day for the elimination of violence against women and girls, to express our solidarity with trans women, particularly trans women of color, who experience violence and hostility so frequently it is almost a way of life.” And on that list, we’ve got Olivia Colman, Nicola Coughlan, Jameela Jamil and plenty more, all saying, “Those who use hostile, crude or mocking language towards trans women, demeaning their bodies, and refusing to accept that they are who they say they are, contribute to the culture which creates those discriminatory disparities, a culture which de-humanizes trans women and girls thereby legitimizing prejudice and violence against them. Those people, many of them in high places of fame, wealth and power, absolutely do not speak for us.”
J.K. Rowling should take note. She won’t, but she should.
(featured image: Neil Mockford/FilmMagic)
