India Willoughby, Britain’s first trans newsreader, has reported J.K. Rowling to Northumbria Police, after the Harry Potter author made transphobic remarks on X on Monday, March 4.
“I contacted Northumbria constabulary yesterday … I have reported J.K. Rowling to the police for what she said,” Willoughby said in an interview with independent news publisher Byline Times.
“Calling a trans person a man, deliberately knowing that that person is a woman – and I am a woman regardless of what J.K. Rowling says … my birth certificate says female, my passport, all my documents, I am legally recognised as a woman, and for J.K. Rowling to deliberately, and that is the key word, misgender me knowing who I am, is grossly offensive.”
The author, who said India was ‘cosplaying’ as a woman, has become a controversial figure on trans issues, leading to fierce criticism from those in the trans community who accuse the author of leading the charge of TERF activists.
“Some time ago, lawyers advised me that not only did I have a clearly winnable case against India Willoughby for defamation, but that India’s obsessive targeting of me over the past few years may meet the legal threshold for harassment,” Rowling wrote on X.
Asked about Willoughby’s accusation, Northumbria Police said in a statement: “On Monday, March 4, we received a complaint about a post on social media. We are currently awaiting to speak to the complainant further.”
