JK Rowling has challenged Scotland’s new hate crime law in a series of social media posts - inviting police to arrest her if they believe she has committed an offence.

The Harry Potter author, who lives in Edinburgh, described several transgender women as men, including convicted prisoners, trans activists and other public figures.

She said “freedom of speech and belief” was at an end if accurate description of biological sex was outlawed.

Earlier, Scotland’s first minister Humza Yousaf said the new law would deal with a “rising tide of hatred”.

The Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021 creates a new crime of “stirring up hatred” relating to age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, transgender identity or being intersex.

Ms Rowling, who has long been a critic of some trans activism, posted on X on the day the new legislation came into force.

  • ipkpjersi@lemmy.ml
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    7 months ago

    I’m glad that Harry Potter wasn’t my favourite series growing up, knowing how bad of a person she is. With that said, it’s still possible to separate the art from the artist, so it’s okay either way but personally I just feel better knowing it wasn’t my number one favourite series growing up.

    • saintshenanigans@programming.dev
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      7 months ago

      I think the general argument against separating the art from the artist is that shes still alive and when we buy HP products, she gets that money and uses it to harm trans people.

      Hp lovecraft iirc is known as a racist, but we can still purchase his books without funding him cause he’s dead.

      Buy your HP merch secondhand, i guess?

      • EnderMB@lemmy.world
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        7 months ago

        I believe that it’s not as simple as that. I think that derivatives of “Harry Potter” and the characters within result in her giving a hefty cut, but I believe that the “Wizarding World” doesn’t, as it is owned by WB and fully owns the rights.

      • Valmond@lemmy.world
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        7 months ago

        I got them all (english versions) except n 1, free if you get them. Bordeaux France.

    • Obi@sopuli.xyz
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      7 months ago

      I personally completely disassociate my harry potter experience from her, I’m not gonna let her ruin my happy childhood memories. But I also don’t go out of my way to spend money that goes to the franchise either, didn’t get the game, don’t buy goodies etc. We might visit the UK park some day if the chance arises just because my wife loves these kinds of parks and I’d rather that than Disney.

      • OfficerBribe@lemm.ee
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        7 months ago

        Depends who you ask. There isn’t a single HP movie I like more than a book and the only decent movie adaptions in my eyes were first 2.