JK Rowling has publicly backed Graham Linehan on X, calling out those who believe the comedian should have been “kinder” during his GB News interview on Sunday.
The Father Ted and IT Crowd creator had appeared with presenter Josh Howie to discuss being cleared of harassing a transgender activist on social media.
After the interview, columnist Ian O’Doherty posted: “Interesting interview with @Glinner on @GBNEWS a few minutes ago about the trans debate. It’s interesting how the tide is turning in his favour.
“I’ve seen old friends who shunned him admit he has a point but that he was too blunt. Even that was unthinkable a few years ago.”
In response, Ms Rowling, a vocal campaigner for “women’s sex-based rights”, shared a lengthy and impassioned reply.
“‘He has a point, but he’s too blunt,’” she began, referencing the post.
“From the start, a key tactic of the gender identitarians has been linguistic prescription, and it’s proved shockingly successful.”
She argued that “shibboleths and euphemisms” used by activists have been allowed to “penetrate the upper echelons of our culture”, claiming this has damaged freedom of speech and belief.
The author accused large cultural institutions, including liberal media, academia, publishing and the arts, of defending “a quasi-religious belief” that has, in her view, caused “real world harm”.
She argued many people who privately agree with gender-critical arguments publicly retreat out of fear of backlash.
Ms Rowling continued: “Time and again, I’ve seen well-educated people squirm when put on the spot… ‘Why can’t you be nice? Why won’t you pretend? We thought you were one of us!’”
She said some in elite professions were now attempting to reposition themselves as the public mood changes, adding: “We dissenters were supposed to find a way of questioning the chemical castration of children while calling it ‘gender affirming care’… We were meant to defend the rights of vulnerable women while also using female pronouns for male rapists.”
‘He has a point, but he’s too blunt.’
From the start, a key tactic of the gender identitarians has been linguistic prescription, and it’s proved shockingly successful. Trans activists’ shibboleths and euphemisms have been allowed to penetrate the upper echelons of our culture… https://t.co/DuV4iGkVrl
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) December 1, 2025
“Either a man can be a woman, or he can’t. Either women deserve rights, or they don’t… The alternative to being ‘blunt’ was to surrender freedom of speech.”
Ms Rowling went on to argue that “blunt people” are especially necessary when society is being “asked to bow down to a naked emperor”.
Fans of the author flooded her replies with support.
“I’ve crossed the Rubicon… it’s the only way forward,” one wrote, prompting Rowling to respond that there is “hardly any middle ground” in the debate.
Another supporter said they were “sick of the BBC using the term ‘pregnant person’”, while others argued that political correctness had set society on a “slippery slope”.
One commenter wrote: “The insidious activism was to make us use only their selected language.” Another said: “People are waking up to the fact that the cost of supporting the gender ideology cult… is higher than the cost of telling the obvious truth.”
Some expressed pity for transgender people, with one user calling them “victims of a corrupt medical establishment”.
A mother also shared a personal story, writing: “Thank you with all my heart! From a mom who saved her daughter from the clutches of the gender cult. She is thriving.”
However, criticism also poured in. One user mocked Rowling with an illustration titled “Harry Potter and the Transphobic Hag”, while others accused her of promoting “junk science”.
“Trans women are women and have exactly the same rights as any other women regardless of what JKR argues,” one wrote.
This is not the first time Ms Rowling has defended Mr Linehan.
In February 2025, she launched a fierce attack on British authorities after Linehan’s controversial detention at Heathrow Airport, calling it “totalitarian” and “utterly deplorable”.
The Irish writer, 57, had been met by five armed officers upon landing from Arizona and arrested on suspicion of inciting violence over posts on X.
The posts included a call to “make a scene” if a “trans-identified male” entered a women’s space.
One read: “If a trans-identified male is in a female-only space, he is committing a violent, abusive act. Make a scene, call the cops and if all else fails, punch him in the balls.”
Another post showed an aerial photo of protesters in a town centre, which he captioned: “A photo you can smell.”
A third message expressed his anger towards what he described as “misogynists and homophobes”, adding: “I hate them,” followed by an expletive.
He was later released without charge when the CPS found no realistic prospect of conviction.
The incident prompted the Metropolitan Police to announce it would stop treating “non-crime hate incidents” as criminal matters — a move widely linked to Linehan’s case.