The classic book collection &#8220;The Baby-Sitters Club&#8221; returned to Netflix recently with a reboot boasting all levels of woke, including a transgender character played by a 9-year-old transgender actor – a boy presenting himself as a girl.
According to <a href="https://www.christianheadlines.com/contributors/michael-foust/netflix-introduces-transgender-child-into-tv-g-kids-show-baby-sitters-club.html">Christian Headlines</a>, the new show, which has been labeled TV-G, takes a dramatic woke turn in episode 4 when the character Mary Anne is asked to babysit a &#8220;girl&#8221; named Bailey.
&#8220;In episode 4, Mary Anne – one of the five sitters – is asked by a child’s mother to keep a little girl named Bailey,&#8221; reported the outlet. &#8220;Mary Anne and Bailey hold a tea party in Bailey’s room, and when Bailey spills water on her pink dress, Mary Anne opens the little girl’s closet to get a change of clothes. But she only finds boys’ clothes.&#8221;
Bailey tells the perplexed Mary Anne that the boys clothes were his old clothes. In voiceover, Mary Anne says, &#8220;That&#8217;s when I understood: Bailey was a little girl and her new clothes help people see it.&#8221;
Bailey is played by actor Kai Shappley, a 9-year-old boy presenting himself as a girl. As noted by Christian Headlines, the show &#8220;was listed in Netflix’s 10-most popular titles&#8221; last Thursday and is available in children&#8217;s profiles.
Further exploring LGBT themes, Mary Anne later seeks council from her friend Dawn, whose father is gay. According to Dawn, being transgender is about as natural as being left-handed.
“It&#8217;s like this: Are you right-handed or left-handed?” Dawn asks Mary Anne.
“Right,” Mary Anne responds.
“And if someone tried to make you do everything with your left hand, it would be super-weird right?” Dawn asks before adding, “Well, that&#8217;s how Bailey feels. The same way that you know that you’re right-handed, Bailey knows she&#8217;s a girl. … We all want our outsides to match our insides.”
Enlightened by Dawn&#8217;s woke musings, Mary Anne later takes Bailey to the hospital after he falls ill and lectures the doctors about the cruelties of treating him according to his biological sex. &#8220;Bailey is not a boy, and by treating her like one, you are completely ignoring who she is,&#8221; she says.
LGBT representation in children&#8217;s shows has seen a dramatic uptick in just the span of five years, most especially at Disney, which started in 2014 when the show “Good Luck Charlie” <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/good-luck-charlie-lesbians_n_4675943">featured</a> a lesbian mom couple.
“In the storyline, parents Amy and Bob Duncan (Leigh-Allyn Baker and Eric Allan Kramer) set up a playdate for preschooler Charlie (Mia Talerico) and one of her new friends,” TV Guide reported at the time. “When the kid arrives, the Duncans learn that Charlie’s pal has two moms. That’s fine, but the potential new friendship is put to the test as one mom chats with Amy, and the other is stuck listening to Bob’s dull stories.”
In 2019, the PBS television show “Arthur” made waves when a beloved character came out as gay by <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/14/arts/television/ratburn-arthur.html">marrying his male partner</a>. That was later followed by the Disney show “Andi Mack” featuring the first <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/50097/disney-features-first-teenage-gay-couple-andi-mack-paul-bois">teenage gay couple on the network, </a>which was then followed by the “Rocko’s Modern Life” reboot featuring a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/rockos-modern-life-reboot-features-transgender-paul-bois">transgender storyline</a>.
The Daily Wire is one of America’s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

Netflix

Netflix’s ‘The Baby-Sitters Club’ Reboot Features A Transgender 9-Year-Old

Transgender

An author from Glasgow, Scotland, has been fired after supporting J.K. Rowling&#8217;s stance vis-a-vis transgender ideology.
According to <a href="https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/18564550.scots-author-gillian-philip-dumped-backing-jk-rowling-transgender-row/">Herald Scotland</a>, Gillian Philip, author of a series of popular children&#8217;s books, tweeted in support of J.K. Rowling and was subsequently fired from her position with Working Partners, a fiction packaging firm.
&#8220;Gillian Philip, who is from Glasgow, backed the Harry Potter novelist on Twitter amid an ongoing row over transgender rights,&#8221; reported the outlet. &#8220;Philip, who has penned a popular series of books for eight-to-12-year-olds, added the hashtag #IStandWithJKRowling to her Twitter handle.&#8221;
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&#8220;Her move sparked a torrent of criticism online and emails to her employer Working Partners, a fiction packaging firm which devises series for publishing houses and commissions authors to write them,&#8221; the report continued. &#8220;Philip had been one of several authors writing under the name Erin Hunter on popular animal fantasy series including Warrior Cats, Survivors and Bravelands. The publisher cut ties with her last week.&#8221;
In a statement to the Daily Mail, Gillian Philip said that an abusive mob destroyed her professional life.
&#8220;I am disappointed that the hard work and professional attitude I have brought to my work for HarperCollins and for Working Partners counted for nothing in the face of an abusive mob of anonymous Twitter trolls,&#8221; she said. &#8220;It is concerning that my concerns about women’s legal rights and spaces have been presented as &#8216;transphobia&#8217;, and that this accusation has been allowed to stand by my former employers.&#8221;
Working Partners claims, however, that the firing stemmed from Philip&#8217;s use of the name Erin Hunter when voicing her Rowling support, which embroiled the company in her personal stance.
&#8220;Erin Hunter is not a single person but a diverse team of creatives and writers,&#8221; the company said in a statement. &#8220;We recently became aware that Gillian Philip had associated the Erin Hunter pen-name with her personal views on Twitter, thus associating them with the whole collective.&#8221;
&#8220;In light of this situation, the decision was taken to no longer work with Gillian Philip,&#8221; the statement continued. &#8220;The decision taken was not in direct response to the nature of Gillian’s personally expressed views.&#8221;
Rowling sparked controversy last month when she said that the concept of transgenderism erases the struggles of women across the world.
“If sex isn’t real, there’s no same-sex attraction,” Rowling tweeted, as reported by <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/jk-rowling-backlash-sex-gender">Fox News</a>. “If sex isn’t real, the lived reality of women globally is erased. I know and love trans people, but erasing the concept of sex removes the ability of many to meaningfully discuss their lives. It isn’t hate to speak the truth.”
“The idea that women like me, who’ve been empathetic to trans people for decades, feeling kinship because they’re vulnerable in the same way as women – ie, to male violence – ‘hate’ trans people because they think sex is real and has lived consequences – is a nonsense,” she continued.
Following her post, Rowling faced a severe social media backlash, prompting “Harry Potter” star Daniel Radcliffe and “Fantastic Beasts” star Eddie Redmayne to publicly declare their support for trans people. As criticism mounted, Rowling penned an <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/rowling-pens-essay-defending-herself-against-trans-blowback-i-refuse-to-bow-down">essay</a> about her experiences as a survivor of both sexual assault and domestic violence and argued that the concept of men becoming women erases womanhood entirely.
“It isn’t enough for women to be trans allies,” she wrote. “Women must accept and admit that there is no material difference between trans women and themselves. But, as many women have said before me, ‘woman’ is not a costume. ‘Woman’ is not an idea in a man’s head. ‘Woman’ is not a pink brain, a liking for Jimmy Choos, or any of the other sexist ideas now somehow touted as progressive.”
Though the publishing company producing Rowling’s new book,  The Ickabog, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/publishing-staff-threatens-to-strike-if-company-keeps-j-k-rowlings-book">has been pressured</a> by LGBTQ activists to censure the author, the company has stood by her right to express her opinion.
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&#8220;Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald&#8221; UK Premiere &#8211; Red Carpet Arrivals

Author Fired After Supporting J.K. Rowling

JK Rowling

Michael Rapaport forged a career from slipping in and out of different people’s skins.
He’s played a Southern mobster on “<a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/5-reasons-miss-justified-raylan-givens-fx-season-6/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Justified</a>,” a boorish man-child in “Beautiful Girls” and the father of an autistic teen in “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atypical" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Atypical</a>.”
His latest role? <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/23/sports/michael-rapaport-podcast.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Political pundit.</a>
The part isn’t always a snug fit. He’s been belligerent at times, doling out dubious hot takes on the latest headlines. For example, he celebrated Mother’s Day by <a href="https://www.breitbart.com/entertainment/2020/05/10/michael-rapaport-uses-mothers-day-to-attack-trump-family/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">savaging First Mother Melania Trump. </a>
He <a class="broken_link" href="https://www.newsweek.com/who-michael-rapaport-actor-slammed-ariana-grandes-appearance-1266057" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">critiqued Ariana Grande’s looks</a>, earning the ire of the Woke Police.
Rapaport is a loud and proud member of the Hollywood Resistance, slamming President Donald Trump at every possible turn.
<iframe title="Michael Rapaport Talks Trash On Trump, LeBron James &amp; Jay-Z&#039;s 4:44" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5lypbhnPGhU?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
This week, the actor took a page out of Trump’s playbook.
The president dedicated part of his <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/trump-cancel-culture-mt-rushmore-hollywood/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Mt. Rushmore speech to Cancel Culture</a>, what he called a scourge on western culture. Part of Cancel Culture is making actors turn down roles that could otherwise go to marginalized groups, a vague explanation with considerable side effects.
For example, Scarlett Johansson accepted and then turned down the chance to play a trans character in the fact-based film <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/scarlett-johansson-casting-woke/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">“Rub and Tug.”</a> The superstar’s decision effectively sank the project.
More recently, Halle Berry flirted with a gig playing a trans character, but after Social Justice Warriors rose up on social media <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/halle-berry-apologizes-backs-out-of-transgender-role-after-backlash" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">she backpedaled.</a>
<blockquote>“As a cisgender woman, I now understand that I should not have considered this role and that the transgender community should undeniably have the opportunity to tell their own stories.”
“I am grateful for the guidance and critical conversation over the past few days and I will continue to listen, educate and learn from this mistake,” added Berry. “I vow to be an ally in using my voice to promote better representation on-screen, both in front of and behind the camera.”</blockquote>
Rapaport thinks she made the wrong decision, and he shared why on Twitter:
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We need REAL GANGSTERS in MOB films. Real Boxers in Boxing films. 
Fuck Denzel,DeNiro &amp; all actor’s&#8230;. get real people to ACT in films. 
Dummies
— MichaelRapaport (@MichaelRapaport) <a href="https://twitter.com/MichaelRapaport/status/1280279693615230977?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 6, 2020</a></blockquote>
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More from Christian Toto: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/toto-shouldnt-hamilton-get-canceled-next">Shouldn’t ‘Hamilton’ Get Canceled Next?</a>
A version of this article appears on <a href="http://hollywoodintoto.com/">HollywoodInToto.com</a>.
The Daily Wire is one of America’s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

Halle Berry

‘Resistance’ Actor Channels Trump, Swipes At Halle Berry For Caving To Cancel Culture

Cancel culture

Hollywood

Actress Halle Berry apologized and backed out of potentially playing a transgender character in a film after she received fierce backlash online for considering the role as a &#8220;cis-gender&#8221; woman.
According to <a href="https://www.harpersbazaar.com/uk/celebrities/news/a33231383/halle-berry-apologises-transgender-character/">Harper&#8217;s Bazaar</a>, Berry told fans via Instagram Live that she was up for consideration to play a transgender man in an upcoming film until she received a flood of criticism scolding her for &#8220;taking&#8221; a role from someone who identifies as transgender. The magazine also noted that Berry &#8220;misgendered&#8221; the character while speaking of the role.
&#8220;I&#8217;m thinking of [playing] a character where the woman is a trans character, so she&#8217;s a woman that transitioned into a man,&#8221; Berry said via Instagram Live. &#8220;She&#8217;s a character in a project I love that I might be doing.&#8221;
&#8220;I want to experience that world, understand that world. I want to deep dive in that in the way I did &#8216;Bruised,'&#8221; she continued. &#8220;Who this woman was is so interesting to me, and that will probably be my next project, and that will require me cutting all of my hair off.&#8221;
The 53-year-old quickly caved to pressures, issuing an apology via Twitter that announced she was stepping down from consideration for the role.
&#8220;Over the weekend I had the opportunity to discuss my consideration of an upcoming role as a transgender man and I&#8217;d like to apologise for those remarks,&#8221; the statement read. &#8220;As a cisgender woman, I now understand that I should not have considered this role and that the transgender community should undeniably have the opportunity to tell their own stories.&#8221;
&#8220;I am grateful for the guidance and critical conversation over the past few days and I will continue to listen, educate and learn from this mistake,&#8221; added Berry. &#8220;I vow to be an ally in using my voice to promote better representation on-screen, both in front of and behind the camera.&#8221;
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<a href="https://t.co/qpE8Tw1Xmu">pic.twitter.com/qpE8Tw1Xmu</a>
&mdash; Halle Berry (@halleberry) <a href="https://twitter.com/halleberry/status/1280304782528311296?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 7, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Back in 2018, actress Scarlett Johansson similarly backed out of a transgender role following backlash over taking on the part despite being &#8220;cisgender.&#8221;
&#8220;After backlash from transgender activists over a &#8216;cisgender&#8217; actor playing a transgender role, Johansson announced last week that she would pull out of playing Dante &#8216;Tex&#8217; Gill, a female massage parlor owner during the ’70s and ’80s who &#8216;prefer[red] to be known as a man,'&#8221; <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/transgender-film-scarlett-johansson-shamed-pulling-james-barrett">The Daily Wire</a> noted at the time.
&#8220;Johansson initially defended her decision to take on the role, arguing that playing a transgender character was no different than transgender actors playing cisgender roles. That prompted even more forceful backlash from activists, which ultimately convinced Johansson to reverse her decision,&#8221; the report added.
The &#8220;woke&#8221; trend is not limited to transgender roles, either. Last month, for example, actress Jenny Slate <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/citing-white-privilege-jenny-slate-gives-up-voiceover-role-of-mixed-animated-character-after-discussion-with-shows-black-collaborators">stepped down</a> from her voiceover gig as a mixed-race animated cartoon character on Netflix’s “Big Mouth,” maintaining that “Black characters on an animated show should be played by Black people.”
The animated character is half-Jewish and half-black. Slate is Jewish.
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“At the start of the show, I reasoned with myself that it was permissible for me to play ‘Missy’ because her mom is Jewish and White — as am I,” the actress said in a lengthy statement. “But ‘Missy’ is also Black, and Black characters on an animated show should be played by Black people.”
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Slate contended that “ending” her “portrayal of ‘Missy’ is one step in a life-long process of uncovering the racism in my actions.”
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/citing-white-privilege-jenny-slate-gives-up-voiceover-role-of-mixed-animated-character-after-discussion-with-shows-black-collaborators">Citing ‘White Privilege,’ Jenny Slate Gives Up Voiceover Role Of Mixed Animated Character After Discussion With Show’s Black Collaborators</a>
The Daily Wire is one of America’s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

Halle Berry Apologizes, Backs Out Of Transgender Role After Backlash

After she was slammed for liking a tweet that argued that hormone prescriptions can be necessary and lifesaving, but they should be a last resort, &#8220;Harry Potter&#8221; author J.K. Rowling, who has been the center of a brouhaha over transgender issues, fired back with a Twitter thread in which she fiercely argued against the trend of young people being “shunted towards hormones and surgery.”
The original tweet claimed that the prescriptions were likened to antidepressants that some people use rather than examine whether they can be healed psychologically, as it stated, “Hormone prescriptions are the new antidepressants. Yes they are sometimes necessary and lifesaving, but they should be a last resort —not the first option. Pure laziness for those who would rather medicate than put in the time and effort to heal people’s minds.
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Hormone prescriptions are the new antidepressants. Yes they are sometimes necessary and lifesaving, but they should be a last resort &#8211; not the first option. Pure laziness for those who would rather medicate than put in the time and effort to heal people’s minds.
&mdash; Sophie (@Manaxium) <a href="https://twitter.com/Manaxium/status/1279465287260266504?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 4, 2020</a></blockquote>
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The author of the tweet added, “TRAs really can’t read. ‘Hormones/antidepressants are SOMETIMES NECESSARY but shouldn’t be overprescribed.’ somehow became ‘YOU DONT THINK ANYONE SHOULD EVER HAVE PILLS?! YOURE LITERALLY KILLING PEOPLE.’ Good gravy.”
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TRAs really can’t read.
“Hormones/antidepressants are SOMETIMES NECESSARY but shouldn’t be overprescribed.”
somehow became 
“YOU DONT THINK ANYONE SHOULD EVER HAVE PILLS?! YOURE LITERALLY KILLING PEOPLE.”
Good gravy.
&mdash; Sophie (@Manaxium) <a href="https://twitter.com/Manaxium/status/1279633769067143168?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 5, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Rowland responded to the criticism of her for liking the original tweet:
<blockquote>I&#8217;ve ignored fake tweets attributed to me and RTed widely. I&#8217;ve ignored porn tweeted at children on a thread about their art. I&#8217;ve ignored death and rape threats. I&#8217;m not going to ignore this.
When you lie about what I believe about mental health medication and when you misrepresent the views of a trans woman for whom I feel nothing but admiration and solidarity, you cross a line.
I’ve written and spoken about my own mental health challenges, which include OCD, depression and anxiety. I did so recently in my essay ‘TERF Wars.’ I’ve taken anti-depressants in the past and they helped me.
Many health professionals are concerned that young people struggling with their mental health are being shunted towards hormones and surgery when this may not be in their best interests.
Many, myself included, believe we are watching a new kind of conversion therapy for young gay people, who are being set on a lifelong path of medicalisation that may result in the loss of their fertility and/or full sexual function.
These concerns were explored by the recent BBC documentary about the Tavistock Clinic. Whistleblowers were talking about transitions driven by homophobia.
As I’ve said many times, transition may be the answer for some. For others, it won’t – witness the accounts of detransitioners. “The system sees surgery as the easy fix to girls who do not conform.”
Sophie is a trans woman and a true feminist ally. She was making the point that anti-depressants were over-prescribed to teenagers in the past, with serious consequences.
The long-term health risks of cross-sex hormones have been now been tracked over a lengthy period. These side-effects are often minimised or denied by trans activists.
Carl Henegan, professor of evidence-based medicine at Oxford University, has described the off-label use of puberty blockers on under-18s as an &#8220;unregulated live experiment on children.&#8221;
None of that may trouble you or disturb your belief in your own righteousness. But if so, I can’t pretend I care much about your bad opinion of me.</blockquote>
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I&#39;ve ignored fake tweets attributed to me and RTed widely. I&#39;ve ignored porn tweeted at children on a thread about their art. I&#39;ve ignored death and rape threats. I&#39;m not going to ignore this. 1/11 <a href="https://t.co/hfSaGR2UVa">pic.twitter.com/hfSaGR2UVa</a>
&mdash; J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) <a href="https://twitter.com/jk_rowling/status/1279755418621878272?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 5, 2020</a></blockquote>
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I’ve written and spoken about my own mental health challenges, which include OCD, depression and anxiety. I did so recently in my essay ‘TERF Wars’. I’ve taken anti-depressants in the past and they helped me. 3/11
&mdash; J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) <a href="https://twitter.com/jk_rowling/status/1279755650726268930?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 5, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Many, myself included, believe we are watching a new kind of conversion therapy for young gay people, who are being set on a lifelong path of medicalisation that may result in the loss of their fertility and/or full sexual function. 5/11
&mdash; J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) <a href="https://twitter.com/jk_rowling/status/1279756114981240834?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 5, 2020</a></blockquote>
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As I’ve said many times, transition may be the answer for some. For others, it won’t – witness the accounts of detransitioners. “The system sees surgery as the easy fix to girls who do not conform.” <a href="https://t.co/cr1Zi4JnWR">https://t.co/cr1Zi4JnWR</a> 7/11
&mdash; J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) <a href="https://twitter.com/jk_rowling/status/1279756563679494144?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 5, 2020</a></blockquote>
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The long-term health risks of cross-sex hormones have been now been tracked over a lengthy period. These side-effects are often minimised or denied by trans activists.<a href="https://t.co/fpIxW34AWr">https://t.co/fpIxW34AWr</a> 9/11
&mdash; J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) <a href="https://twitter.com/jk_rowling/status/1279759022112071680?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 5, 2020</a></blockquote>
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None of that may trouble you or disturb your belief in your own righteousness. But if so, I can’t pretend I care much about your bad opinion of me. 11/11
&mdash; J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) <a href="https://twitter.com/jk_rowling/status/1279759870133182465?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 5, 2020</a></blockquote>
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The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers with the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe"> member</a>.

HBO&#8217;s &#8220;Finding The Way Home&#8221; World Premiere

J.K. Rowling Fires Back At Critics: Hormones, Surgery For Young People A ‘New Kind Of Conversion Therapy’

Activists in Elizabeth, New Jersey want to remove a monument dedicated to Christopher Columbus (not the one pictured above) and replace it with a monument to Marsha P. Johnson, a black trans icon.
The activists have started <a href="https://www.change.org/p/city-of-elizabeth-replace-the-statue-of-christopher-colombus-with-a-statue-of-marsha-p-johnson">a petition</a> on Change.org that has already gained more than 95,000 signatures, less than 60,000 short of its goal. The petition is critical of Columbus, a popular theme among activists in recent years who have complained about statues and a holiday celebrating the Italian explorer.
“The appropriateness of celebrating Christopher Columbus is something that has become more popular discourse in recent years. Although it is widely taught that Columbus “discovered” the Americas, he could not have ‘discovered’ land that was already occupied by indigenous groups. Many believe celebrating Columbus is glorifying European colonialism. Columbus is not a figure to be celebrated, as he enslaved and killed the Taíno. Him and his men also sexually abused Taíno women and girls, some as young as 9 years old. He was even arrested in his own time for crimes he committed against Spanish colonists, which included flogging and executions without trial,” the petition begins.
In place of Columbus, the petition requests a statue of Marsha P. Johnson be erected.
“Marsha was revered and was an inspiration to many in the LGBT+ community. She was a part of the Gay Liberation Front and staged a sit-in protest at NYU when the administration cancelled a dance sponsored by gay organizations. She also co-founded Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR) with her close friend Sylvia Rivera. They established a shelter for homeless, gay and trans kids called the STAR house, where they provided shelter, food, clothing and emotional support. She was referred to as ‘Saint Marsha’ because of the things she did for New York’s LGBT+ community,” the petition said of Johnson.
Johnson has gained notoriety in recent years and especially in the past week, when Google created a Google Doodle to honor Johnson and then donated $500,000 to the Marsha P. Johnson Institute, the Associated Press <a href="https://apnews.com/PR%20Newswire/15133c65197b495a4103ddfee829263e">reported</a>.
“Through her advocacy for an inclusive LGBTQ+ movement and an end to police brutality, Marsha P. Johnson challenged the world to acknowledge the intersections of Black+ and Queer identity,” Maab Ibrahim, Inclusion Grantmaking Lead at Google.org, told the AP at the time. “Google.org’s efforts to end racial injustice and support LGBTQ+ organizations includes a grant to The Marsha P. Johnson Institute, an organization working to end violence against Black+ transgender women.”
As NBC <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/over-75-000-sign-petition-have-marsha-p-johnson-statue-n1232583">reported</a>, when Johnson “there were no murals created in her honor; there were no institutes in her name; and there were certainly no monuments recognizing her activism.” Johnson was found dead in the Hudson River, though friends said the activist would never kill herself. Johnson did, however, suffer from mental illness, but her friends said that never manifested itself in suicidal tendencies, though it did sometimes make Johnson violent.
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers with the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe"> member</a>.

Christopher Columbus Statue

Petition Started To Replace Christopher Columbus Monument In New Jersey With Statue Of Black Trans Activist

Christopher Columbus

Further proving his woke bona fides, author Stephen King took a swipe at &#8220;Harry Potter&#8221; creator J.K. Rowling for believing that men cannot be women.
Over the weekend, Stephen King faced blowback when he retweeted a message from J.K. Rowling in which she said “it isn’t hateful for women to speak about their own experiences, nor do they deserve shaming for doing so.”
In response, Rowling publicly thanked King for showing support.
“I’ve always revered [Stephen King], but today my love reached — maybe not Annie Wilkes levels — but new heights,” she said in a now-deleted tweet. “It’s so much easier for men to ignore women’s concerns, or to belittle them, but I won’t ever forget the men who stood up when they didn’t need to. Thank you, Stephen,&#8221; she tweeted.
Several Twitter users then began scolding King for not addressing Rowling&#8217;s &#8220;transphobia,&#8221; prompting him to say definitively that &#8220;trans women are women.&#8221;
&#8220;Yes. Trans women are women,&#8221; King tweeted on Sunday in response to a follower that said, &#8220;You should address the TERF tweet. By telling us constant readers if you believe trans women are women.&#8221;
TERF means, &#8220;Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminist,&#8221; a pejorative term used largely in the United Kingdom to refer to feminists who fight the concept of &#8220;gender fluidity.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Yes. Trans women are women.
&mdash; Stephen King (@StephenKing) <a href="https://twitter.com/StephenKing/status/1277351371784818692?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 28, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Rowling sparked controversy earlier this month when she said that the concept of transgenderism erases the struggles of women across the world.
“If sex isn’t real, there’s no same-sex attraction,” Rowling tweeted, as reported by <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/jk-rowling-backlash-sex-gender">Fox News</a>. “If sex isn’t real, the lived reality of women globally is erased. I know and love trans people, but erasing the concept of sex removes the ability of many to meaningfully discuss their lives. It isn’t hate to speak the truth.”
“The idea that women like me, who’ve been empathetic to trans people for decades, feeling kinship because they’re vulnerable in the same way as women – ie, to male violence – ‘hate’ trans people because they think sex is real and has lived consequences – is a nonsense,” she continued.
Following her post, Rowling faced a severe social media backlash, prompting “Harry Potter” star Daniel Radcliffe and “Fantastic Beasts” star Eddie Redmayne to publicly declare their support for trans people.
“Transgender women are women. Any statement to the contrary erases the identity and dignity of transgender people and goes against all advice given by professional health care associations who have far more expertise on this subject matter than either Jo or I,” Radcliffe said in an essay published on <a href="https://www.thetrevorproject.org/2020/06/08/daniel-radcliffe-responds-to-j-k-rowlings-tweets-on-gender-identity/">The Trevor Project</a>.
Speaking with <a href="https://variety.com/2020/film/news/eddie-redmayne-jk-rowling-anti-trans-tweets-harry-potter-fantastic-beasts-1234630226/">Variety</a>, Eddie Redmayne, who played a transgender character in “The Danish Girl,” said he firmly disagrees with Rowling’s stance.
“Respect for transgender people remains a cultural imperative, and over the years I have been trying to constantly educate myself,” Redmayne said. “This is an ongoing process. As someone who has worked with both J.K. Rowling and members of the trans community, I wanted to make it absolutely clear where I stand. I disagree with Jo’s comments.”
As criticism mounted, Rowling penned an <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/rowling-pens-essay-defending-herself-against-trans-blowback-i-refuse-to-bow-down">essay</a> about her experiences as a survivor of both sexual assault and domestic violence and argued that the concept of men becoming women erases womanhood entirely.
“It isn’t enough for women to be trans allies,” she wrote. “Women must accept and admit that there is no material difference between trans women and themselves. But, as many women have said before me, ‘woman’ is not a costume. ‘Woman’ is not an idea in a man’s head. ‘Woman’ is not a pink brain, a liking for Jimmy Choos, or any of the other sexist ideas now somehow touted as progressive.”
Though the publishing company producing Rowling&#8217;s new book,  The Ickabog, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/publishing-staff-threatens-to-strike-if-company-keeps-j-k-rowlings-book">has been pressured</a> by LGBTQ activists to censure the author, the company has stood by her right to express her opinion.
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers with the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe"> member</a>.

ABC&#8217;s &#8220;Good Morning America&#8221; &#8211; 2015

Stephen King Swipes JK Rowling: Trans Women Are Women

Stephen King

&#8220;Harry Potter&#8221; author J.K. Rowling torched critics of her &#8220;trans-exclusionary radical feminism&#8221; on social media over the weekend, after a member of the United Kingdom&#8217;s Labour Party issued a tepid apology for accusing Rowling of weaponizing her history of sexual assault and domestic violence.
Labour MP Lloyd Russell-Moyle apologized to Rowling on Twitter Sunday without tagging her directly, and after claiming, in a lengthy op-ed for a British newspaper, that Rowling was using her history of sexual assault &#8212; a history she revealed in detail in a heavily personal essay published last week &#8212; as a  “justification” for &#8220;discriminating&#8221; against transgender individuals.
In the piece, Rowling says she is “a domestic abuse and sexual assault survivor” and that she stands up for women&#8217;s rights, even in the face of pushback from transgender activists, because she believes women-only spaces and women&#8217;s safety are under direct attack from efforts to erase the concept of gender.
Rowling said she cares about the issue &#8220;out of solidarity with the huge numbers of women who have histories like mine, who’ve been slurred as bigots for having concerns around single-sex spaces.&#8221;
She also claims that she struggled with her own femininity as a result of abuse and that she may have tried to transition out of guilt, had she been born several decades later: “The allure of escaping womanhood would have been huge. I struggled with severe OCD as a teenager. If I’d found community and sympathy online that I couldn’t find in my immediate environment, I believe I could have been persuaded to turn myself into the son my father had openly said he’d have preferred.&#8221;
She then torched critics of her &#8220;transphobia,&#8221; calling them victims of &#8220;groupthink&#8221; who put women at risk.
“When you throw open the doors of bathrooms and changing rooms to any man who believes or feels he’s a woman – and, as I’ve said, gender confirmation certificates may now be granted without any need for surgery or hormones – then you open the door to any and all men who wish to come inside. That is a simple truth,” Rowling added.
After being attacked by Russel-Moyle for the essay, Rowling took to Twitter to again torch her critics, openly accusing those who called her &#8220;transphobic&#8221; of imperilling the achievements of feminism and minimizing the needs of women.
She even compared them to so-called &#8220;men&#8217;s rights activists&#8221; who openly deny gender equality.
&#8220;When so-called leftists like <a class="css-4rbku5 css-18t94o4 css-901oao css-16my406 r-1n1174f r-1loqt21 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0" dir="ltr" role="link" href="https://twitter.com/lloyd_rm" data-focusable="true">@lloyd_rm </a>demand that we give up our hard-won sex-based rights, they align themselves squarely with men’s rights activists. To both groups, female trauma is white noise, an irrelevance, or else exaggerated or invented,&#8221; Rowling tweeted. 
She even called Russel-Moyle sexist: &#8220;Andrea Dworkin wrote: ‘Men often react to women’s words—speaking and writing—as if they were acts of violence; sometimes men react to women’s words with violence.’ It isn&#8217;t hateful for women [to] speak about their own experiences, nor do they deserve shaming for doing so.&#8221;
Rowling has been a target of ire for weeks after speaking out against the elimination of &#8220;gender,&#8221; and there have been campaigns to remove Rowling&#8217;s works from store shelves, and to have her fired from her publisher and literary agency. Fortunately for Rowling, her contributions are too great for corporations to simply &#8220;cancel&#8221; her or declare her off-limits as a production partner.
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers with the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe"> member</a>.

JK Rowling Fires Back At Critics Who Called Her ‘Transphobic,’ Shames Detractors For Failing To Protect Women’s Rights

Feminism

Gender

Pop star and left-wing political activist Taylor Swift said Friday that she found the two gender options on the U.S. Census &#8220;so upsetting,&#8221; maintaining that it was an &#8220;erasure&#8221; of &#8220;transgender&#8221; and &#8220;nonbinary&#8221; people.
Swift made the comments during a Stonewall Day livestream while applauding the recent Supreme Court ruling regarding transgenderism and Title VII.
&#8220;[It was] a really good step forward with the Supreme Court ruling,&#8221; Swift said, according to <a href="https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/pride/9409947/taylor-swift-trans-erasure-census">Billboard</a>, adding, &#8220;but we still have so far to go with the LGBTQ community.&#8221;
&#8220;I got my census the other day and there were two choices: male and female. And that erasure was so upsetting to me,&#8221; the &#8220;Lover&#8221; singer added.
Swift described the two-gender option as &#8220;a really brutal way of dismissing&#8221; transgender and nonbinary citizens. &#8220;We need to make sure we elect people who care about all communities,&#8221; the 30-year-old said.
As noted by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-supreme-court-rules-lgbt-individuals-protected-from-job-discrimination-under-title-vii">The Daily Wire</a>, Justice Neil Gorsuch sided with liberals in the landmark Supreme Court decision on Title VII, &#8220;which protects workers from employment discrimination on the basis of gender, can be interpreted to include discrimination based on sexual orientation, extending the protections of federal employment law to LGBT individuals.&#8221;
Swift, who was largely apolitical for years prior to the midterm 2018 elections, earlier this month <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/taylor-swift-blames-trump-for-riots-vows-his-2020-election-loss-stoking-flames-of-white-supremacy">shifted blame</a> to President Donald Trump for the looting, arson, and rioting in Minneapolis, a Democrat-run city, following the death of George Floyd, a black man who died after a disturbing arrest that was captured on viral video.
“After stoking the fires of white supremacy and racism your entire presidency, you have the nerve to feign moral superiority before threatening violence?” Swift posted via Twitter, reacting to a tweet from the president condemning the rioters.
“‘When the looting starts the shooting starts’???” she posted, quoting a segment of Trump’s full two-tweet condemnation of violence.
“We will vote you out in November,” Swift vowed, tagging Trump’s personal Twitter handle.
Trump&#8217;s remarks were seemingly taken out of context by Swift.
As later reiterated by the POTUS, Trump was advocating for the destruction to stop, before it leads to &#8220;shooting.&#8221;
“Looting leads to shooting,&#8221; Trump <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-seeks-to-clarify-tweet-minneapolis-looting-leads-to-shooting">clarified</a> via Twitter, &#8220;and that’s why a man was shot and killed in Minneapolis on Wednesday night &#8211; or look at what just happened in Louisville with 7 people shot. I don’t want this to happen, and that’s what the expression put out last night means. It was spoken as a fact, not as a statement.”
“It’s very simple, nobody should have any problem with this other than the haters, and those looking to cause trouble on social media. Honor the memory of George Floyd!” the president added.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/taylor-swift-blames-trump-for-riots-vows-his-2020-election-loss-stoking-flames-of-white-supremacy">Taylor Swift Blames Trump For Riots, Vows His 2020 Election Loss: ‘Stoking Flames Of White Supremacy’</a>
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift Deeply ‘Upset’ By Gender Options On U.S. Census

George Floyd

Jari Jones

First ‘Transqueer Lesbian’ Stars In Calvin Klein Billboard For Pride Month

Calvin Klein

Now that author J.K. Rowling has refused to back down from her views on transgender ideology, staff for the company that publishes her children’s book have threatened to strike if they continue to carry the book.
According to the <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8424029/JK-Rowling-publishers-revolt-Workers-publishing-house-Hachette-threaten-tools.html">Daily Mail</a>, staff for Hachette&#8217;s children&#8217;s department voiced their outrage over the company still carrying Rowling&#8217;s new book, “The Ickabog,” despite her views on transgenderism.
&#8220;Staff in the children’s department at Hachette announced they were no longer prepared to work on the book,&#8221; an inside source told the outlet. “They said they were opposed to her comments and wanted to show support for the trans lobby. These staff are all very &#8216;woke,&#8217; mainly in their twenties and early thirties, and apparently it is an issue they feel very strongly about.”
Another source told the outlet that “it was a handful of staff,” and that they will soon be talking with their managers.
&#8220;It was a handful of staff, and they are entitled to their views,&#8221; said the source. &#8220;If they were being asked to edit a book on domestic abuse, and they were a survivor of domestic abuse, of course they would never be forced to work on it. But this is a children’s fairy tale. It is not the end of the world. They will all be having chats with their managers.&#8221;
As noted by the Daily Mail, Hachette is the parent company of Virago Press, which has famously published works from great women and feminist authors, including Maya Angelou, Beatrix Campbell, and Angela Carter. Despite the blowback, Hachette said in a statement on Tuesday that it stands by Rowling&#8217;s right to express her opinion.
&#8220;We are proud to publish JK Rowling’s children’s fairy tale The Ickabog. Freedom of speech is the cornerstone of publishing,&#8221; the company said. &#8220;We fundamentally believe that everyone has the right to express their own thoughts and beliefs. That’s why we never comment on our authors’ personal views and we respect our employees’ right to hold a different view.&#8221;
&#8220;We will never make our employees work on a book whose content they find upsetting for personal reasons, but we draw a distinction between that and refusing to work on a book because they disagree with an author’s views outside their writing, which runs contrary to our belief in free speech,&#8221; the company added.
Rowling stirred another wave of the controversy earlier this month when she essentially said that the concept of transgenderism erases the struggles of women across the world.
“If sex isn’t real, there’s no same-sex attraction,” Rowling tweeted. “If sex isn’t real, the lived reality of women globally is erased. I know and love trans people, but erasing the concept of sex removes the ability of many to meaningfully discuss their lives. It isn’t hate to speak the truth.”
“The idea that women like me, who’ve been empathetic to trans people for decades, feeling kinship because they’re vulnerable in the same way as women – ie, to male violence – ‘hate’ trans people because they think sex is real and has lived consequences – is a nonsense,” she continued.
Following her post, Rowling faced a severe social media backlash, prompting “Harry Potter” star Daniel Radcliffe and “Fantastic Beasts” star Eddie Redmayne to publicly declare their support for trans people. Actress Emma Watson, who played Hermione Granger in the &#8220;Harry Potter&#8221; movies, and actor Rupert Grint, who played Ronald Weasley, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/harry-potter-stars-emma-watson-rupert-grint-defy-j-k-rowling-trans-women-are-women-trans-men-are-men">have also announced</a> their support for trans rights in defiance of Rowling.
As criticism mounted, Rowling penned an <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/rowling-pens-essay-defending-herself-against-trans-blowback-i-refuse-to-bow-down">essay</a> about her experiences as a woman, arguing that the concept of men becoming women erases womanhood entirely.
“It isn’t enough for women to be trans allies,” she wrote. “Women must accept and admit that there is no material difference between trans women and themselves. But, as many women have said before me, ‘woman’ is not a costume. ‘Woman’ is not an idea in a man’s head. ‘Woman’ is not a pink brain, a liking for Jimmy Choos or any of the other sexist ideas now somehow touted as progressive.”
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

Publishing Staff Threatens To Strike If Company Keeps J.K. Rowling’s Book

In a landmark 6-3 ruling, the Supreme Court decided Monday that Title VII, which protects workers from employment discrimination on the basis of gender, can be interpreted to include discrimination based on sexual orientation, extending the protections of federal employment law to LGBT individuals.
The ruling was unexpected, given the largely conservative makeup of the Supreme Court, and will likely give rise to further cases testing the limits of Title VII protections for LGBT workers, <a href="https://apnews.com/ef3c19a79b65c060fd9e82b9dd87a1d9?utm_source=Twitter&amp;utm_medium=AP&amp;utm_campaign=SocialFlow">The Associated Press reports</a>.
Justice Neil Gorsuch, a Trump appointee, wrote for the majority, which included the four &#8220;liberal&#8221; Justices &#8212; Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, Stephen Breyer, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg &#8212; and Supreme Court Justice John Roberts. Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented, as did the court&#8217;s most recent addition, Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who wrote his own dissenting opinion separate from the other two.
“An employer who fires an individual for being homosexual or transgender fires that person for traits or actions it would not have questioned in members of a different sex,” Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote in his opinion. “Sex plays a necessary and undisguisable role in the decision, exactly what Title VII forbids.”
Alito and Thomas argued that, while the Court may believe it is achieving a judicious result, that same result could have &#8212; and should have &#8212; come through legislation and a specific, Congressional change to Title VII, rather than through the courts, and that the word &#8220;sex&#8221; cannot be read to include &#8220;sexual orientation&#8221; or &#8220;gender identity.&#8221;
“The Court tries to convince readers that it is merely enforcing the terms of the statute, but that is preposterous,” Alito wrote. “Even as understood today, the concept of discrimination because of ‘sex’ is different from discrimination because of ‘sexual orientation’ or ‘gender identity.’”
&#8220;During the Obama years, the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission had changed its longstanding interpretation of civil rights law to include discrimination against LGBT people,&#8221; the AP adds. &#8220;The law prohibits discrimination because of sex but has no specific protection for sexual orientation or gender identity.&#8221;
The decision covers only those employees who claim to have been fired for their sexual orientation in jobs with no other conditions for employment. The plaintiffs whose cases were joined under the Bostock v. Clayton County decision include Donald Zarda, a former skydiving instructor who claimed to have been fired after his employers discovered he was gay; Gerald Bostock, a civil employee of Clayton County, Georgia; and Aimee Stephens, a transgender individual who was fired from a job at a Detroit-area funeral home after coming to work wearing women&#8217;s clothing.
The court did not specifically address whether religious organizations, many of whom prohibit openly gay individuals from serving as employees, will receive a carve-out exception to the ruling, or whether transgender individuals who have not had gender-reassignment surgery can be considered members of the opposite sex &#8212; an issue at the forefront of women&#8217;s athletics.
There are cases pending in lower courts on both of those issues, and both could come before the Supreme Court as early as next term.
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

Supreme Court

Gorsuch Sides With Liberal Justices In Landmark LGBT Case; Alito Slams Ruling: ‘Preposterous’

Brett Kavanaugh

John Roberts

LGBT

LGBTQ

Neil Gorsuch

Four major stars of the &#8220;Harry Potter&#8221; franchise have defied author J.K. Rowling&#8217;s argument that transgender ideology &#8220;erases&#8221; the &#8220;lived reality&#8221; of women.
Speaking with <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/weald-school-drops-jk-rowling-from-its-house-names-after-transphobia-row-shlm9gbh6?wgu=270525_54264_1591952435851_d40e23b134" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Sunday Times</a>, actor Rupert Grint, who played Ronald Weasley, declared that biological men can be women and biological women can be men.
&#8220;I firmly stand with the trans community and echo the sentiments expressed by many of my peers. Trans women are women. Trans men are men,&#8221; said Grint. &#8220;We should all be entitled to live with love and without judgment.&#8221;
In a post on Twitter, actress Emma Watson, who played Hermione Granger in the series, said that trans people deserve to live their lives without having their identities constantly questioned.
“Trans people are who they say they are and deserve to live their lives without being constantly questioned or told they aren’t who they say they are,&#8221; tweeted Watson.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Trans people are who they say they are and deserve to live their lives without being constantly questioned or told they aren’t who they say they are.
&mdash; Emma Watson (@EmmaWatson) <a href="https://twitter.com/EmmaWatson/status/1270826851070619649?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 10, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Rowling stirred another wave of the controversy last weekend when she essentially said that the concept of transgenderism erases the struggles of women across the world.
“If sex isn’t real, there’s no same-sex attraction,” Rowling tweeted, as reported by <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/jk-rowling-backlash-sex-gender">Fox News</a>. “If sex isn’t real, the lived reality of women globally is erased. I know and love trans people, but erasing the concept of sex removes the ability of many to meaningfully discuss their lives. It isn’t hate to speak the truth.”
“The idea that women like me, who’ve been empathetic to trans people for decades, feeling kinship because they’re vulnerable in the same way as women – ie, to male violence – ‘hate’ trans people because they think sex is real and has lived consequences – is a nonsense,” she continued.
Following her post, Rowling faced a severe social media backlash, prompting &#8220;Harry Potter&#8221; star Daniel Radcliffe and &#8220;Fantastic Beasts&#8221; star Eddie Redmayne to publicly declare their support for trans people.
“Transgender women are women. Any statement to the contrary erases the identity and dignity of transgender people and goes against all advice given by professional health care associations who have far more expertise on this subject matter than either Jo or I,” Radcliffe said in an essay published on <a href="https://www.thetrevorproject.org/2020/06/08/daniel-radcliffe-responds-to-j-k-rowlings-tweets-on-gender-identity/">The Trevor Project</a>.
Speaking with <a href="https://variety.com/2020/film/news/eddie-redmayne-jk-rowling-anti-trans-tweets-harry-potter-fantastic-beasts-1234630226/">Variety</a>, Eddie Redmayne, who played a transgender character in “The Danish Girl,” said he firmly disagrees with Rowling’s stance.
“Respect for transgender people remains a cultural imperative, and over the years I have been trying to constantly educate myself,” Redmayne said. “This is an ongoing process. As someone who has worked with both J.K. Rowling and members of the trans community, I wanted to make it absolutely clear where I stand. I disagree with Jo’s comments.”
As criticism mounted, Rowling penned an <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/rowling-pens-essay-defending-herself-against-trans-blowback-i-refuse-to-bow-down">essay</a> about her experiences as a woman, arguing that the concept of men becoming women erases womanhood entirely.
“It isn’t enough for women to be trans allies,” she wrote. “Women must accept and admit that there is no material difference between trans women and themselves. But, as many women have said before me, ‘woman’ is not a costume. ‘Woman’ is not an idea in a man’s head. ‘Woman’ is not a pink brain, a liking for Jimmy Choos or any of the other sexist ideas now somehow touted as progressive.”
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

Rupert Grint

‘Harry Potter’ Stars Emma Watson, Rupert Grint Defy J.K. Rowling: ‘Trans Women Are Women. Trans Men Are Men.’

Harry Potter

Acclaimed author J.K. Rowling remains defiant in the face of radical LGBTQ activists demanding she recant her staunchly feminist views on transgenderism. Following a heartfelt, lengthy essay she penned doubling down on her position, the speculation now is whether or not Hollywood will cancel the &#8220;Harry Potter&#8221; franchise entirely.
&#8220;What J.K. Rowling’s Anti-Trans Views Could Mean for ‘Fantastic Beasts’ Franchise — and ‘Harry Potter’ Fans,&#8221; Variety <a href="https://variety.com/2020/film/news/jk-rowling-anti-trans-fantastic-beasts-harry-potter-1234630008/">wrote in its incendiary</a> headline for an article that included quote after quote from prominent fans calling for her cancelation.
The far-left LGBTQ activist group GLAAD told Variety that Warner Bros. – the studio that owns the film rights to the &#8220;Harry Potter&#8221; franchise – must publicly rebuke her statements.
“J.K. Rowling proactively spreads misinformation and has refused conversations with LGBTQ leaders who merely want to have a dialogue and let her know the negative impact that these tweets have,” Anthony Ramos, GLAAD’s head of celebrity talent, told the outlet.  “A generation raised on J.K.’s own books about embracing differences is now making their voices loud and clear and if she refuses dialogue, then companies that partner with her should tell the community where they stand. Studios, networks, and brands affiliated with J.K. Rowling owe it to their transgender employees and consumers to speak out against her inaccurate and hurtful comments.”
Universal Parks &amp; Resorts, which hosts the &#8220;Wizarding World of Harry Potter&#8221; in Los Angeles and Orlando, <a href="https://deadline.com/2020/06/j-k-rowling-corporate-partners-struggle-tweets-trans-women-1202955567/">told Deadline</a> in a statement, “Our core values include diversity, inclusion and respect for all our guests, as well as our team members. Our theme parks are places where people and families of all types are welcome to enjoy their time together. Beyond that, we have no further comment.”
Both actors Daniel Radcliffe and Eddie Redmayne<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/daniel-radcliffe-eddie-redmayne-denounce-j-k-rowlings-transgender-stance"> have denounced</a> the author&#8217;s anti-trans views.
In a Twitter post on Saturday, J.K. Rowling invited another wave of hate when she essentially said that the concept of transgenderism erases the struggles of women across the world.
“If sex isn’t real, there’s no same-sex attraction,” Rowling tweeted, as reported by <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/jk-rowling-backlash-sex-gender">Fox News</a>. “If sex isn’t real, the lived reality of women globally is erased. I know and love trans people, but erasing the concept of sex removes the ability of many to meaningfully discuss their lives. It isn’t hate to speak the truth.”
“The idea that women like me, who’ve been empathetic to trans people for decades, feeling kinship because they’re vulnerable in the same way as women – ie, to male violence – ‘hate’ trans people because they think sex is real and has lived consequences – is a nonsense,” she continued.
In response, Rowling <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/rowling-pens-essay-defending-herself-against-trans-blowback-i-refuse-to-bow-down">penned a heartfelt essay</a> about her experiences as a woman, arguing that the concept of men becoming women erases womanhood entirely.
&#8220;It isn’t enough for women to be trans allies,&#8221; she wrote. &#8220;Women must accept and admit that there is no material difference between trans women and themselves. But, as many women have said before me, &#8216;woman&#8217; is not a costume. &#8216;Woman&#8217; is not an idea in a man’s head. &#8216;Woman&#8217; is not a pink brain, a liking for Jimmy Choos or any of the other sexist ideas now somehow touted as progressive.&#8221;
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

2019 RFK Ripple of Hope Awards

Threats To Cancel J.K. Rowling Grow Amid Transgender Controversy

On Wednesday, author J.K. Rowling <a href="https://www.jkrowling.com/opinions/j-k-rowling-writes-about-her-reasons-for-speaking-out-on-sex-and-gender-issues/">published an essay</a> on her website addressing the recent and ongoing fervor over her remarks on transgenderism.
Rowling begins the essay by writing about prior statements and actions for which she was designated transphobic, including when she tweeted her support for Maya Forstater, a woman who “lost her job” after allegedly “transphobic” tweets.
The author notes that she’s been interested in “trans issues” for some time for numerous reasons, but that after she followed a woman on social media named Magdalen Burns, she was hit with further backlash:
<blockquote>Magdalen was an immensely brave young feminist and lesbian who was dying of an aggressive brain tumour. I followed her because I wanted to contact her directly, which I succeeded in doing. However, as Magdalen was a great believer in the importance of biological sex, and didn’t believe lesbians should be called bigots for not dating trans women with penises, dots were joined in the heads of twitter trans activists, and the level of social media abuse increased.</blockquote>
Rowling notes that after the backlash she received for following Magdalen, she also received a great deal of supportive messages:
<blockquote>They came from a cross-section of kind, empathetic and intelligent people, some of them working in fields dealing with gender dysphoria and trans people, who’re all deeply concerned about the way a socio-political concept is influencing politics, medical practice and safeguarding. They’re worried about the dangers to young people, gay people and about the erosion of women’s and girl’s rights. Above all, they’re worried about a climate of fear that serves nobody – least of all trans youth – well.</blockquote>
She goes on to explain how she ditched social media for a time, and how she has now been labeled a “TERF,” which stands for “Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminist.” The author also writes about the glut of online abuse she’s allegedly received for her stated beliefs.
However, Rowling then explains the reasons why she’s concerned about “the new trans activism.”
Among the reasons driving her concern are that she funds MS research, an illness that she says affects women differently than men, that she is a defender of “free speech,” and that she is troubled over the “huge explosion in young women wishing to transition and also about the increasing numbers who seem to be detransitioning.”
The author writes about the idea that young people might suffer under a potential “social contagion” as it pertains to transitioning, quoting Lisa Littman, a physician. She adds that trans individuals used to move through a “rigorous process of evaluation, psychotherapy, and staged transformation,” but that many of those safeguards seem to be in the process of being removed in the current rush.
Regarding that idea, Rowling notes: “I know transition will be a solution for some gender dysphoric people, although I’m also aware through extensive research that studies have consistently shown that between 60-90% of gender dysphoric teens will grow out of their dysphoria.”
Rowling then writes that when she was young, she felt “mentally sexless,” and wonders, given the vivid descriptions of anxiety, depression, and other issues experienced by trans people, if she herself might have “been persuaded” to transition if she lived as a youth in modern society.
The author then directly bucks the progressive orthodoxy, stating:
<blockquote>It isn’t enough for women to be trans allies. Women must accept and admit that there is no material difference between trans women and themselves. But, as many women have said before me, “woman” is not a costume. “Woman” is not an idea in a man’s head. “Woman” is not a pink brain, a liking for Jimmy Choos or any of the other sexist ideas now somehow touted as progressive.</blockquote>
Rowling, of course, notes that she wants transgender individuals to be protected, and that she thinks “the majority of trans-identified people not only pose zero threat to others, but are vulnerable for all the reasons I’ve outlined.”
Referencing the recent tweet that got her in trouble (for which she received much alleged abuse), Rowling says bluntly that it would be much easier to simply follow the trends, tweet the right messages, and “bask in a virtue-signalling afterglow,” but that’s not for her.
Rowling says: “I refuse to bow down to a movement that I believe is doing demonstrable harm in seeking to erode ‘woman’ as a political and biological class&#8230;”
In the end, the author states that she simply wants women to be able to “speak up” about these issues without getting heaps of abusive and threatening blowback.
To read the essay in full, click <a href="https://www.jkrowling.com/opinions/j-k-rowling-writes-about-her-reasons-for-speaking-out-on-sex-and-gender-issues/">here</a>.
As The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/j-k-rowling-defends-biological-sex-again-gets-hate-again">previously reported</a>, Rowling came under fire recently for tweets pertaining to biological sex that some have considered “transphobic.” Actors Daniel Radcliffe and Eddie Redmayne, both of whom have worked extensively with Rowling, stated this week that they <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/daniel-radcliffe-eddie-redmayne-denounce-j-k-rowlings-transgender-stance">disagree</a> with the author’s remarks.
The tweets from Rowling read:
<blockquote>If sex isn’t real, there’s no same-sex attraction. If sex isn’t real, the lived reality of women globally is erased. I know and love trans people, but erasing the concept of sex removes the ability of many to meaningfully discuss their lives. It isn’t hate to speak the truth.
The idea that women like me, who’ve been empathetic to trans people for decades, feeling kinship because they’re vulnerable in the same way as women – ie, to male violence – “hate” trans people because they think sex is real and has lived consequences – is a nonsense.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
The idea that women like me, who’ve been empathetic to trans people for decades, feeling kinship because they’re vulnerable in the same way as women &#8211; ie, to male violence &#8211; ‘hate’ trans people because they think sex is real and has lived consequences &#8211; is a nonsense.
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) <a href="https://twitter.com/jk_rowling/status/1269406094595588096?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 6, 2020</a></blockquote>
“I respect every trans person’s right to live any way that feels authentic and comfortable to them. I’d march with you if you were discriminated against on the basis of being trans. At the same time, my life has been shaped by being female. I do not believe it’s hateful to say so,” Rowling concludes.
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

J.K. Rowling

Rowling Pens Essay Defending Herself Against ‘Trans’ Blowback: ‘I Refuse To Bow Down’

&#8220;Harry Potter&#8221; actor Daniel Radcliffe and &#8220;Fantastic Beasts&#8221; actor Eddie Redmayne have both denounced author J.K. Rowling&#8217;s stance on transgenderism.
In an essay <a href="https://www.thetrevorproject.org/2020/06/08/daniel-radcliffe-responds-to-j-k-rowlings-tweets-on-gender-identity/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">published</a> on The Trevor Project, Radcliffe declared that &#8220;transgender women are women.&#8221;
&#8220;Transgender women are women. Any statement to the contrary erases the identity and dignity of transgender people and goes against all advice given by professional health care associations who have far more expertise on this subject matter than either Jo or I,&#8221; Radcliffe said, as reported by <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/eddie-redmayne-reacts-jk-rowling-tweets-trans-women">Fox News</a>.
&#8220;According to The Trevor Project, 78 percent of transgender and nonbinary youth reported being the subject of discrimination due to their gender identity,&#8221; he continued.
Radcliffe then directed his criticism towards Rowling&#8217;s book series by pointing out that her messages of love and tolerance are drastically undercut by her anti-trans stance.
&#8220;To all the people who now feel that their experience of the books has been tarnished or diminished, I am deeply sorry for the pain these comments have caused you. I really hope that you don’t entirely lose what was valuable in these stories to you,&#8221; he said.
Speaking with <a href="https://variety.com/2020/film/news/eddie-redmayne-jk-rowling-anti-trans-tweets-harry-potter-fantastic-beasts-1234630226/">Variety</a>, Eddie Redmayne, who played a transgender character in &#8220;The Danish Girl,&#8221; said he firmly disagrees with Rowling&#8217;s stance.
“Respect for transgender people remains a cultural imperative, and over the years I have been trying to constantly educate myself,” Redmayne said. “This is an ongoing process. As someone who has worked with both J.K. Rowling and members of the trans community, I wanted to make it absolutely clear where I stand. I disagree with Jo’s comments.&#8221;
&#8220;Trans women are women, trans men are men, and non-binary identities are valid,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;I would never want to speak on behalf of the community but I do know that my dear transgender friends and colleagues are tired of this constant questioning of their identities, which all too often results in violence and abuse. They simply want to live their lives peacefully, and it’s time to let them do so.”
In a Twitter post on Saturday, J.K. Rowling invited another wave of hate when she essentially said that the concept of transgenderism erases the struggles of women across the world.
“If sex isn’t real, there’s no same-sex attraction,” Rowling tweeted, as reported by <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/jk-rowling-backlash-sex-gender">Fox News</a>. “If sex isn’t real, the lived reality of women globally is erased. I know and love trans people, but erasing the concept of sex removes the ability of many to meaningfully discuss their lives. It isn’t hate to speak the truth.”
“The idea that women like me, who’ve been empathetic to trans people for decades, feeling kinship because they’re vulnerable in the same way as women – ie, to male violence – ‘hate’ trans people because they think sex is real and has lived consequences – is a nonsense,” she continued.
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

Graham Norton Show &#8211; London

Daniel Radcliffe, Eddie Redmayne Denounce J.K. Rowling’s Transgender Stance

&#8220;Harry Potter&#8221; author J.K. Rowling has taken another round of heat for her anti-transgender stance, something she has remained steadfast about for over a year now.
In a Twitter post on Saturday, the acclaimed author essentially said that the concept of transgenderism erases the struggles of women across the world.
&#8220;If sex isn’t real, there’s no same-sex attraction,&#8221; Rowling tweeted, as reported by <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/jk-rowling-backlash-sex-gender">Fox News</a>. &#8220;If sex isn’t real, the lived reality of women globally is erased. I know and love trans people, but erasing the concept of sex removes the ability of many to meaningfully discuss their lives. It isn’t hate to speak the truth.&#8221;
&#8220;The idea that women like me, who’ve been empathetic to trans people for decades, feeling kinship because they’re vulnerable in the same way as women &#8211; ie, to male violence &#8211; ‘hate’ trans people because they think sex is real and has lived consequences &#8211; is a nonsense,&#8221; she continued.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
The idea that women like me, who’ve been empathetic to trans people for decades, feeling kinship because they’re vulnerable in the same way as women &#8211; ie, to male violence &#8211; ‘hate’ trans people because they think sex is real and has lived consequences &#8211; is a nonsense.
&mdash; J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) <a href="https://twitter.com/jk_rowling/status/1269406094595588096?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 6, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
In another tweet, J.K. Rowling shared an article from Devex that used the phrase &#8220;people who menstruate&#8221; instead of the actual people who menstruate, namely, women.
&#8220;‘People who menstruate.’ I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud? Opinion: Creating a more equal post-COVID-19 world for people who menstruate,&#8221; she tweeted.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
‘People who menstruate.’ I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud? 
Opinion: Creating a more equal post-COVID-19 world for people who menstruate <a href="https://t.co/cVpZxG7gaA">https://t.co/cVpZxG7gaA</a>
&mdash; J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) <a href="https://twitter.com/jk_rowling/status/1269382518362509313?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 6, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Rowling&#8217;s anti-trans stance makes her what leftists call a TERF – Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminist. Naturally, leftists denounced her as a hater.
&#8220;The vast consensus of medical and other scientific experts validate trans people and urge affirmation of us,&#8221; tweeted Human Rights Campaign&#8217;s Charlotte Clymer. &#8220;Your own country’s medical organizations have said as much. You don’t love trans people, and you certainly don’t care about us.&#8221;
&#8220;I also want to remind everyone that when LGBTQ organizations generously reached out to [Rowling] in December to discuss all this in a collaborative setting, she refused to speak with them,&#8221; added Clymer.
&#8220;I respect every trans person’s right to live any way that feels authentic and comfortable to them. I’d march with you if you were discriminated against on the basis of being trans,&#8221; responded Rowling. &#8220;At the same time, my life has been shaped by being female. I do not believe it’s hateful to say so.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
I respect every trans person’s right to live any way that feels authentic and comfortable to them. I’d march with you if you were discriminated against on the basis of being trans. At the same time, my life has been shaped by being female. I do not believe it’s hateful to say so.
&mdash; J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) <a href="https://twitter.com/jk_rowling/status/1269407862234775552?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 6, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;You’re a smart person. How do you not yet understand the difference between sex and gender? The only way I can possibly explain your ignorance at this point is willfulness. It’s incredibly disappointing,&#8221; <a href="https://twitter.com/BradWalsh/status/1269390182811394054?s=20">tweeted</a> Brad Walsh.
As <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/harry-potter-author-jk-rowling-under-fire-again-for-extreme-anti-transgender-rhetoric">reported</a> by The Daily Wire&#8217;s Emily Zanotti, Rowling was subject to a cancel campaign last year when she came to the defense Maya Forstater, a university professor who was stripped of her job after “tweeting that a person cannot change their biological sex.”
Rowling tweeted, &#8220;Dress however you please. Call yourself whatever you like. Sleep with any consenting adult who’ll have you. Live your best life in peace and security. But force women out of their jobs for stating that sex is real? <a class="PrettyLink hashtag customisable" href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IStandWithMaya?src=hash" rel="tag" data-query-source="hashtag_click" data-scribe="element:hashtag">#IStandWithMaya</a> <a class="PrettyLink hashtag customisable" href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ThisIsNotADrill?src=hash" rel="tag" data-query-source="hashtag_click" data-scribe="element:hashtag">#ThisIsNotADrill.&#8221;</a>
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

J.K Rowling Defends Biological Sex Again, Gets Hate Again

Although the &#8220;Harry Potter&#8221; series was once considered holy text by the anti-Donald Trump &#8220;resistance,&#8221; its author, J.K. Rowling, has been under fire by progressives for her &#8220;trans-exclusive&#8221; language and for her sins against modern gender theory.
Back in December, Rowling was &#8220;canceled&#8221; online for daring to note that biological sex &#8220;is real&#8221; and coming to the defense of university professor Maya Forstater, who was stripped of her job after “tweeting that a person cannot change their biological sex,” The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/j-k-rowling-smeared-as-transphobe-canceled-after-saying-biological-sex-is-real">reported at the time</a>.
Now, Rowling is in trouble again after she &#8220;liked&#8221; a tweet about a Welsh trans woman whom a writer referred to as “an adult human male who claims to be a lesbian.”
<a href="https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2020/05/harry-potter-author-j-k-rowling-continues-support-extreme-anti-transgender-tweets/#.XsLBQrUN4mY.twitter">LGBTQ Nation</a> reports that Rowling liked a tweet by &#8220;anti-transgender activist Fred Sargeant,&#8221; a writer who objects to the idea that anyone can somehow change their biological sex, and believes that male-to-female transgender individuals cannot be &#8220;oppressed&#8221; because they are born biologically male and made a choice to exit the Patriarchy.
Sargeant tweeted about a transgender activist named Alex Drummond and described Drummond&#8217;s lack of biological transition in great detail, adding that Drummond, who considers themselves a woman attracted to other women (so, technically, a lesbian), &#8220;believes that real lesbians who aren’t into penises are transphobic and should be excluded from the lesbian community.&#8221;
Sargeant later crowed that the tweet had received a &#8220;like&#8221; from Rowling, setting off the progressive social media chorus.
Rowling, many progressives and gender activists believe, is a &#8220;TERF&#8221; or &#8220;trans-exclusionary radical feminist&#8221; &#8212; a brand of activist that has cropped up more in Europe than in the United States, but which fights back against the idea that gender is fluid or non-existent, a theory they believe to be a threat to the crusade for women&#8217;s rights. If gender is merely a &#8220;social construct,&#8221; then the goals of feminism are and were imaginary and feminists&#8217; achievements were in vain.
Back in December, in support of Maya Forstater, Rowling tweeted, &#8220;Dress however you please. Call yourself whatever you like. Sleep with any consenting adult who’ll have you. Live your best life in peace and security. But force women out of their jobs for stating that sex is real? <a class="PrettyLink hashtag customisable" dir="ltr" href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IStandWithMaya?src=hash" rel="tag" data-query-source="hashtag_click" data-scribe="element:hashtag">#IStandWithMaya</a> <a class="PrettyLink hashtag customisable" dir="ltr" href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ThisIsNotADrill?src=hash" rel="tag" data-query-source="hashtag_click" data-scribe="element:hashtag">#ThisIsNotADrill</a>&#8221;
Rowling was quickly derided as a bigot, and legions of Harry Potter fans took to Twitter to excoriate Rowling for her personal beliefs (though it&#8217;s not entirely clear what Rowling&#8217;s personal beliefs actually are, given that she&#8217;s never called herself a &#8220;TERF&#8221; or spoken out directly on the subject of gender). Some even called for a boycott of the Harry Potter books. Celebrities who made the mistake of &#8220;liking&#8221; Rowling&#8217;s offending tweet were even, themselves, made to apologize.
Rowling has not issued a statement on the subject. In the past, her publicist has said that Rowling &#8220;likes&#8221; things on Twitter by mistake.
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

JK. Rowling

‘Harry Potter’ Author JK Rowling Under Fire AGAIN For ‘Extreme Anti-Transgender Rhetoric’

Leftism

Our great fans over at Media Matters ran another lengthy article last week exposing our terrible alleged bigotry and launching various accusations at us that end in -ist or -phobia. The <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/daily-wire/daily-wire-hosts-demean-trans-high-school-athletes-center-alliance-defending-case">article,</a> written by &#8220;LGBTQ researcher&#8221; Alex Paterson, says that Michael Knowles, Ben Shapiro, and yours truly are guilty of &#8220;demeaning trans high school athletes.&#8221; The athletes we have supposedly demeaned are biological males who have been competing against &#8212; and often beating, despite being mediocre runners by male standards &#8212; girls in track and field. Three of those girls are filing a lawsuit to keep boys off of their sports teams, and that was the occasion for the allegedly demeaning comments made by Knowles, Shapiro, and myself.
In reading through their report, I was not able to find an example of anything that could be reasonably considered demeaning or insulting. When posting his article on Twitter, Paterson called us &#8220;disgusting&#8221; because we &#8220;comment[ed] about teenagers&#8217; genitals.&#8221; But we of course made no specific comments about anyone&#8217;s genitals, except to point out that the teenagers in question are male. We &#8220;commented about their genitals&#8221; in the same way that a doctor in the delivery room comments about a baby&#8217;s genitals when he looks down and says, &#8220;It&#8217;s a boy.&#8221; Paterson may want to stop and consider why and how doctors make these determinations based, most of the time, on a brief glance at the genitals. Is it because doctors are involved in a transphobic conspiracy? Or is it perhaps because there is a crucial link between a person&#8217;s genitals and their sex? I would encourage our friends at Media Matters to use their brains and think carefully about this question. Though I don&#8217;t mean to comment about their internal organs. Especially one that, evidence suggests, they may not possess.
The article goes on to provide even more objectionable details:
<blockquote>After National Review first <a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/news/attorneys-for-connecticut-high-school-runners-ask-judge-to-recuse-after-he-forbids-them-from-describing-trans-athletes-as-male/?taid=5eb931101e86350001b65250&amp;utm_campaign=trueanthem&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=twitter">reported</a> on the story on May 11, Daily Wire published <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/read-it-judge-scolds-bars-attorneys-for-high-school-girls-from-describing-trans-athletes-as-male-attorneys-take-action">two</a><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/walsh-three-girls-are-suing-to-keep-boys-out-of-girls-sports-the-judge-just-rigged-the-case-against-them"> articles</a>, one written by Walsh and the other by Amanda Prestigiacomo, that repeatedly misgendered the athletes, referring to them as “male” or “biologically male.”
During the May 11 <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/media/3872421">episode</a> of Walsh’s Daily Wire podcast The Matt Walsh Show, he called trans girls “boys with XY chromosomes and penises” and claimed that “people are like Mr. Potato Head dolls now. You just take off the different parts, swap them out. Doesn&#8217;t matter. It makes no difference.” He also claimed that the athletes are not females, “not by the science, not by common sense, and not by human decency.” The following day, Walsh <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/media/3872426">doubled down</a> on his remarks and called trans athletes “penis wielding XYs” and claimed, “They’re not girls, and they are certainly not female.”</blockquote>
Admittedly, the Mr. Potato Head line was a bit insensitive. I should have stipulated Mr. or Mrs. Potato Heads. Aside from that momentary lapse, I fail to see the problem with my analysis of the situation. What I see instead is more evidence of a classic leftist bait-and-switch.
Notice how we are accused of &#8220;misgendering the athletes&#8221; by referring to them as male. But wait a minute. I thought male is a sex, not a gender. Have we not been told, time and again, that sex and gender are two different things? In fact, here&#8217;s Planned Parenthood &#8212; I&#8217;m sure Media Matters would consider them a trusted source &#8212; <a href="https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/gender-identity/sex-gender-identity">explaining</a> that sex and gender are &#8220;different things.&#8221; This is what the organization has to say about sex: it &#8220;is a label — male or female — that you’re assigned by a doctor at birth based on the genitals you’re born with and the chromosomes you have.&#8221;
Is Planned Parenthood transphobic now, too? Indeed, if sex is &#8220;based on the genitals you&#8217;re born with&#8221; (commenting on genitals, how perverted) then we are back to the reality that those trans athletes are males racing against females. But Media Matters says we &#8220;misgender&#8221; by calling them male, which is to claim that male is a gender, not a sex. This is where the bait-and-switch comes in. The Left normalized the idea of gender fluidity by breathlessly insisting that gender is an entirely different sort of thing from sex. Yes, a man is male, they said, but he may still be a woman. Now they say, never mind, if he&#8217;s a woman then he can&#8217;t be male, silly. Transwomen aren&#8217;t just women, they&#8217;re female. And just like that we went from fluid gender to fluid sex. First gender was subjective, and now biology itself is subjective. For all of the talk of people &#8220;attacking&#8221; and &#8220;denying&#8221; science, this is an actual example of both.

WALSH: Media Matters Accuses Us Of ‘Demeaning’ Males By Calling Them Male

Media Matters For America

Dr. Rachel Levine, the transgender state official who heads up Pennsylvania&#8217;s health department &#8212; a department now under fire for sending COVID-19 positive, potentially infectious patients back to nursing homes before they were deemed recovered &#8212; melted down during a press conference Wednesday after a reporter referred to Levine several times as &#8220;sir.&#8221;
The incident occurred during a press briefing discussing the state&#8217;s plan to reopen businesses and lift coronavirus related lockdowns. A radio personality named Marty Griffin called Levine, who is a male-to-female transgender individual, &#8220;&#8216;sir&#8217; in both his initial question and follow-up,&#8221; according to <a href="https://www.pennlive.com/news/2020/05/reporter-calls-pa-health-secretary-sir-multiple-times-in-phone-interview.html">a local news outlet</a>.
Levine lashed out, warning Griffin &#8220;please don’t misgender me&#8221; several times and calling the question &#8220;insulting.&#8221;
Griffin said later, on Twitter, that he apologized profusely and that he used the wrong pronoun in error.
&#8220;I apologize. I apologized twice. I truly did. It was not intentional. It was not. I was not focused. I was doing six things at once,&#8221; Griffin wrote, referencing the incident.
It was too little too late, however. Pittsburgh&#8217;s mayor, Bill Peduto, defending Levine, canceled a morning radio interview with Griffin&#8217;s station &#8212; a punishment, he said on social media, for Griffin&#8217;s behavior.
&#8220;Cancelled interview w/ Lynne Hayes-Freeland for tomorrow,&#8221; Peduto wrote. &#8220;Not upset w/her, she’s always been a fair, strong journalist. But will not support <a class="PrettyLink profile customisable h-card" dir="ltr" href="https://twitter.com/KDKARadio" data-mentioned-user-id="22013225" data-scribe="element:mention">@KDKARadio</a> behavior. Growing up, KDKA had good people who made us proud to be from Pittsburgh. Now, it shock-jocks, sensationalism &amp; worse.&#8221;
Critics of the incident took to social media to suggest that Griffin is transphobic, referencing an &#8220;error&#8221; Griffin made years ago, when he called &#8220;Chelsea Manning &#8216;Mr. Bradley,&#8217; and said she’d had some sort of &#8216;bizarre sex-change thing&#8217; going on,&#8221; <a href="https://www.pennlive.com/news/2020/05/reporter-calls-pa-health-secretary-sir-multiple-times-in-phone-interview.html">according to PennLive</a>.
Levine and the rest of of the Pennsylvania health department is under fire for a policy requiring state nursing homes to admit COVID-19 positive patients or face state disciplinary procedures &#8212; a policy that led to an eruption of coronavirus cases across the state.  “Nearly 70% of Pennsylvania’s Covid-19 deaths, 2611 of 3806, have occurred in nursing homes or long-term care facilities,&#8221; <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pa-health-official-tasked-with-overseeing-nursing-homes-pulled-out-own-mother-while-policies-wreaked-havoc">The Daily Wire</a> reported Wednesday.
Levine is also facing charges that she pulled her own mother out of a Pennsylvania nursing home before she could become infected with the novel coronavirus, but after it became clear that adult care facilities within the state were ground zero for COVID-19.
Levine insists that her mother requested the move and that it was not prompted by news that the infection was spreading quickly in the state&#8217;s care homes.
“My mother requested, and my sister and I as her children complied to move her to another location during the Covid-19 outbreak,” Levine told reporters. “My mother is 95 years old. She is very intelligent and more than competent to make her own decisions.”
On Tuesday, Levine announced that the state would begin testing nursing home residents and caregivers regularly to control the spread of coronavirus.
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

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Netflix’s ‘The Baby-Sitters Club’ Reboot Features A Transgender 9-Year-Old

Author Fired After Supporting J.K. Rowling

‘Resistance’ Actor Channels Trump, Swipes At Halle Berry For Caving To Cancel Culture

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