We guess today is ‘Leave the Family Alone’ day here at Twitchy. Earlier today, we covered former NBC/Universal executive Mike Sington’s ‘creeptastic’ long-standing obsession with underage children of political figures, like Barron Trump and Claudia Conway. In that piece, we argued that Barron Trump is not fair game for criticism because he hasn’t really done anything to make himself fair game. And now we see someone else is going after J.K. Rowling through her family, because her critics are totally normal, stable people.
(Please note: We were just being sarcastic. They don’t seem particularly normal or stable.)
It started with an account on The Social Media Site Formerly Known As Twitter (‘TSMSFKA Twitter’) called Wizarding News and even claims to trademark that name. Their profile says pretty much everything:
🏳️⚧️ #LGBwiththeT 🏳️🌈 LGBTQIA+ 🏆 Award-winning news service est. 2002 as @HPANA to cover Harry Potter, now reporting on the demise of JK Rowling's legacy.
So, they used to love, love, love Harry Potter, and now they are super mad because the author disagrees with them on one issue. And really, how ridiculous is that? It is extremely rare to find even one person in the world who agrees with you about everything.
And truth be told, we think when it comes to politics, we would probably disagree with Rowling about most things, but the difference is that any disagreement we discover doesn’t mean that suddenly we hate the Harry Potter books and movies and want to see her in the poorhouse. And well, as for the Fantastic Beasts series, let’s just say our dwindling enthusiasm for it has nothing to do with her politics. But, on the bright side, the recent video game (Hogwarts Legacy) was pretty great.
Returning to this Wizarding News account, we also noticed that the banner picture for that account is a screencap of this post from Emma Watson:
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.
— Emma Watson (@EmmaWatson) June 10, 2020
This is moral idiocy. Look, this issue is not entirely academic to this author. This author has three learning disabilities and he has spent most of his life dealing constantly with people who doubted that learning disabilities were a real thing or doubted that he really had them. Bluntly, growing up, we were often the first person teachers and other officials had met with our disabilities. And when people expressed those doubts, we respond patiently and calmly. We patiently explained to them the science and even offered to provide evidence. We didn’t scream at them and call them evil. we did our best to persuade and if it didn’t work, we looked for another solution. And very often, we eventually won those people over to our side and they became our best allies.
That is how a mentally healthy person behaves.
Further, we never imagined we could just say ‘trust us’ when seeking what accommodations we did. We always conceded they needed evidence beyond our word. Yet, that is precisely what trans-activists demand: That you just take them at their word. Even if you buy entirely into transgender ideology—and this author doesn’t—a basic knowledge of human nature tells you that some people are going to fake it. If anyone ever says that no one would lie about a particular thing—especially when people might see some kind of advantage in telling the lie—that person is either trying to trick you, or they are being naïve. That goes for anyone claiming ‘believe all trans people’ or ‘believe all women.’ If you claim either of those statements are wise, you are either naïve or a liar. While most people are basically honest, you will find some people willing to lie about anything, no matter how despicable it would be to tell the lie.
Recommended
Of course, Ms. Watson might be just saying all of that because she wanted to distance herself from Rowling—for all we know, she didn’t even write the post or the thread that follows. We haven’t paid enough attention to her account to know if she really writes any of her posts. Who knows?
Still, Rowling has what we jokingly call ‘eff you’ money, meaning she is so rich she really doesn’t need more money, so she feels free to say ‘f—— you’ if the choice is between getting more money and standing by her principles. In fact, she alluded to that reality, just recently:
The number of people who feel compelled to tell me that if they had my money they wouldn’t give a damn about the rights of women and children never ceases to amaze me. I believe you, of course, I’m just surprised that’s something you like to boast about.
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) March 19, 2024
But it seems to us that the richer you are, the easier it is to care more about principles than money. For instance, if you are living paycheck-to-paycheck, you can’t afford to lose your job. So, if your boss says that you have to say a thing you disagree with to keep your job, you’re more likely to say it. But we would guess that Rowling could stop selling everything and she will still be able to dive into her money, Uncle Scrooge style.
So, all of this started with Wizarding News posted about J.K. Rowling’s daughter and Rowling responded:
Could somebody who isn’t blocked by this account tell them this is untrue in all respects, as I suspect they already know. Lying about my kids is a new low, even by this website’s subterranean standards. pic.twitter.com/q2Gmd9SGux
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) March 20, 2024
The odd thing about that is, well … even if they were right about Rowling's daughter, so what? There are lots of reasons why a mother and daughter might not get along. Further, one can’t assume based on any of this information who would be right or wrong in that hypothetical argument. And more basically, what is wrong with the people behind the Wizarding News account that they think this is any of their business in the first place? For our money, we are very reluctant to wade into the middle of a family dispute.
But as we will see a moment, Wizarding News’ allegations are almost certainly untrue.
In any case, this led to a moment of bonding between Rowling and another person who has stirred up the trans-activist mob.
I’m really sorry to hear that. I’ve fought for more than a quarter of a century to enable my kids to live outside the spotlight.
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) March 20, 2024
Another person asked why she bothered, and Rowling replied:
The person being lied about happens to be one of the people I love best in the world and when I hear stress or pain in her voice because malicious falsehoods have been written about her, I’m not minded to ignore it.
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) March 20, 2024
And then she responded to a fresh falsehood from Wizarding News:
You’re painting a target on people who have no connection with me, who aren’t my relatives. You surely know what you’re doing, but persist. Hate me all you like, but your actions are having real world consequences for people I don’t even know.
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) March 20, 2024
Notice the weak performance from Community Notes. We happen to believe Rowling in this case, but a person denying it doesn’t disprove a claim.
In any case, Rowling decided to escalate matters:
This is not a joke. The baby and its mother have no connection with me, @wizardingnews. That isn’t my daughter. Your vendetta against me is causing collateral damage to innocent people. If legal action is the only way to protect them, I will take it. pic.twitter.com/D8sLhCJcDM
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) March 20, 2024
You have me blocked, or I could respond directly, @wizardingnews. You’ve posted fabrications about my daughter. You have doxxed and targeted a young mother with no connection to me. I want a retraction and apology, or we go to lawyers. pic.twitter.com/6GwNyYfpvY
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) March 20, 2024
Really, at this point why does Wizarding News bother to block Rowling? It is clear that Rowling can see what they are writing in real time. We don’t know if she has a secret or not-so-secret alternate account, or if she just has people who tell her what Wizarding News is saying all the time. And they are pretty much having a conversation. So why not just let her see the posts directly and actually talk to her like an adult?
This is the actual post Rowling pictured:
Deleted the post with photos and link to that Instagram hours ago, Jo.
— Wizarding News™ (@wizardingnews) March 20, 2024
Glad you seem to be self-aware enough that you're now publicly acknowledging the hate your bigoted rhetoric engenders. https://t.co/wn1Pwj3aPO
And notice Wizarding News is blaming Rowling for their hate. We are reminded of a cutting moment in the mostly gentle Forrest Gump when Jenny’s boyfriend tries to rationalize away the fact he hit Jenny, with this bit of dialogue turned into a meme:
Yes, bud, it is President Johnson’s fault you hit your girlfriend. *eye roll* Only it is darker than that with Wizarding News. Wizarding News surely thinks they are morally superior, but apparently they are blaming Rowling for their own inability to control their hatred. They don’t even care about the collateral damage they might cause.
Finally, Rowling brought down the thunder:
.@wizardingnews I've done everything I can to keep my children out of the public eye. My eldest daughter doesn't owe you or anyone else details of her private life. However, for the avoidance of doubt:
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) March 20, 2024
1. Contrary to your claims, we are very close and last talked an hour ago. We…
The cut off text reads:
1. Contrary to your claims, we are very close and last talked an hour ago. We discussed your posts, which have angered and distressed her.
2. Contrary to your claims, she doesn't live in Portugal.
3. Contrary to your claims, she has no children.
4. The young mother whose photograph and personal details you published is not my daughter and has no relation to me whatsoever.
You've published easily disproven and damaging falsehoods. Should we go to legal proceedings, you will need to show why, in spite of being told the truth, you neither retracted nor apologised. In the absence of any such retraction and apology, the next communication you receive will be from my lawyer.
Precisely.
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) March 20, 2024
Really, final showdown at the end of Aliens vibes, there.
And that’s about when Wizarding News cried uncle, sort of:
We are unreservedly sorry... to JK Rowling's eldest daughter... for understandably mixing her up with a VERY coincidentally named person found in multiple published online articles & biographies identifying her as such, and extrapolating & sharing inaccurate details therefrom.
— Wizarding News™ (@wizardingnews) March 20, 2024
We'll be cleaning up some of the tweets she found objectionable at our earliest convenience, but this is our final word and apology on this matter.
— Wizarding News™ (@wizardingnews) March 20, 2024
JK Rowling is the problem, not her family, and we shall be better focused going forward.
Of course, there’s a real question whether or not that apology is enough to satisfy Rowling, especially because this person keeps blaming Rowling for their misconduct. The truth is they are rationalizing their own viciousness and we think that if they didn’t have Rowling, they would find another excuse to behave this way toward someone else. This is not how mentally healthy people behave.
(We say ‘their’ because we have no idea who this person or persons are, and therefore we don’t know their sex.)
We haven’t seen any moves from Rowling since the apology, but Rowling indicated that the next communication might be coming from counsel.
Still, there were reactions:
Predictably, the “apology” has been issued, or what Jeff appears to think passes for one, along with more digs.
— EJ Rosetta 💚🖤💜 (@ejrosetta) March 20, 2024
You gave him a chance, he didn’t take it.
I hope you absolutely bury him.
Jeff, I believe the “final word on this matter” will be JK’s & the mother you doxxed.
Fool. pic.twitter.com/P3BGEL2qxf
They’re about to magic away all of their money.
— Alex Armstrong (@alexharmstrong) March 20, 2024
*Pushes up glasses* We think the correct spell would be Evanesco.
Jeff Guillaume should be prosecuted for the dangerous way in which he is targeting you.
— Miss Jo (@therealmissjo) March 20, 2024
He is obviously obsessed with you.
I believe he poses a danger to you and to your family.
We are leery of the notion that any criminal prosecution is the right answer regarding mere words, but we think a civil suit would be sensible.
I’m a little angry.
— WastedGenius (@awastedgenius) March 20, 2024
I went and looked at that feed and am a worse person for it and can’t get that 10 minutes back.
I wouldn’t threaten - just flat out sue them.
Please make them go away. The internet would be all the better for it.
He should join Twitchy, where we turn our outrage at social media feeds like Wizarding News into cash money! Then his time wouldn’t have been wasted.
I agree with both parties in this conflict. I think they're both right. At the same time.
— Steven Guilbeault Minister of Environment PARODY (@bill_c10) March 20, 2024
Much in the way that a man can be a woman. Wise, intelligent, enlightened, progressive, evolved, rational human beings can hold to this fundamental belief and to biological reality at the…
The cut off text reads:
Wise, intelligent, enlightened, progressive, evolved, rational human beings can hold to this fundamental belief and to biological reality at the same time.
It's really a miracle.
Parody is right in his name.
Not the moment for parody.
— Bohemian Harpy KPSS (@BohemianHarpy) March 20, 2024
By our upbringing, almost any time is a time for humor. This is why we related so hard to Life is Beautiful.
Their apology is nothing but DARVO
— 'Ultra' Witchy (@Gibson_U_Witch) March 20, 2024
That apparently means Deny, Attack, and Reverse Victim and Offender, and is described as ‘a tactic a person may use to deflect responsibility onto an individual they have abused.’ It doesn’t 100% fit, because there are more victims than just Rowling in this—but it’s a pretty good term to use. We would also note that Rowling might be the least harmed of everyone involved in this, although like Ripley at the end of Aliens, she is probably filled with ‘Mamma bear’ rage—and justifiably so.
Indeed, this guy hit on the same idea of Mamma bear rage:
Bit of free legal and life advice for you @wizardingnews. Your mistake here was to anger a mother. You see, had you just casually defamed her in your normal fashion, I would doubt she might be bothered to lift a finger to metaphorically crush your silly outfit, but going after… https://t.co/1oWiPciC0U
— Dennis Noel Kavanagh (@Jebadoo2) March 20, 2024
The cut off text reads:
… but going after her daughter is a key strategic mistake because you really don't want to know what most mums are actually prepared to do to protect their children, trust me, you can only imagine the beast you've now stirred.
Now look, you have a window of opportunity here before matters escalate beyond your comprehension and you still have time to be smart. I'm telling you in clear terms the smart thing to do now is a grovelling, fulsome and unambiguous public apology.
You do that, I think this metaphorical rain of fire you've summoned will abate, you ignore it and well, you'll find out first hand just how far an angry mother with practically infinite legal power will go. Do the smart thing. Act tactically and not in anger.
But anger seems to be their primary emotion.
Going back to Aliens, one of the smart things James Cameron did in transforming the ‘final girl’ in the original movie into an action hero in the second movie was that first he made her into the surrogate mother of ‘Newt’ and then he put Newt in jeopardy. Then it became completely plausible to the audience that Ripley would take chances and generally kick butt, because it was pure Momma bear energy. Everyone who has grown up with a mother has probably seen it at least once—not to mention those who have actually been mothers themselves. They say hell has no fury like a woman scorned, but she ain’t got nothing on a mother whose child is in jeopardy or has been harmed.
What's cool is that Rowling isn't just protecting her own family. She's also protecting the family that @wizardingnews is putting in danger. Rowling proves, once again, she's one of the good ones. https://t.co/F53PDNTFMZ
— Brandon Morse (@TheBrandonMorse) March 20, 2024
He also wrote a post that said: "Muggle f—ked around and is about to wizardly find out," except with the actual curse word.
After reading this, I looked up @wizardingnews - oh I’m blocked. Never interacted with them. So sorry @jk_rowling for their contemptible behaviour towards you & your daughter. Please take them to the cleaners. 🙏 https://t.co/zJCsjeer3X pic.twitter.com/feuorNFZVs
— Mara Yamauchi (@mara_yamauchi) March 20, 2024
A lot of leftists will block you sight unseen, often based on lists. We are pretty sure we are on several of those lists, as well as being prohibited in the entire country of Pakistan, last we checked.
The 24/7 harassment directed at Jk Rowling is absolutely alarming. But I see this happen often to those who refuse to bend the knee to the left. Honest question: are there any examples of something like this happening from the "right"? https://t.co/dNb3n8fYzq
— Erich Hartmann (@erichhartmann) March 20, 2024
Well, we suspect that Mike Sington is still being dragged … but we don't think that is the same.
we all know you’re in that castle alone, put the wine down https://t.co/T6xKXREa0t
— Samantha (@itssamanthaaaa_) March 20, 2024
Wait, does she think Rowling can’t find a lawyer? We give it a good 50/50 chance that she has one on permanent retainer. She probably has to deal with a lot of legal matters related to raking in millions of dollars on books, movie deals, video games, and upcoming Harry Potter reboot show and so on.
Could someone explain to me if these people are so righteous and so sure of their ideology then why do they resort to threats, defamation and putting people in harms way? I don’t remember anything similar from the civil rights movement or the gay rights movement. https://t.co/VuPwdPrP16
— 💯Figuregirl💯 (@Figuregirl1977) March 20, 2024
It’s almost as if they don’t believe their arguments can win in a fair intellectual fight.
When history is written JK Rowling will be viewed on the right side of history.
— Malcolm Tucker (@gorbalsgoebbels) March 20, 2024
A champion of women’s rights.
Bravo @jk_rowling https://t.co/tTSK3yE9ql
We know that at one time, Virginia Woolf’s ‘A Room of One’s Own,’ was considered a great feminist tract. The title of the movie ‘A League of Our Own’ was a reference to that piece. And yet these days, women can’t seem to get a bathroom of their own.
“Wizarding News™” needs to be sued; these adults replaced magic with gender and became totalitarians, fetishists, and eugenicists. https://t.co/as5NSBwVwm
— Donovan Cleckley (@DonovanCleckley) March 20, 2024
The left knows no bounds when it comes to someone who refuses to live the lie. https://t.co/LE7Vd2XD2F
— 🩴 La Chancla 🩴 (@StarGazer419) March 21, 2024
If I was @jk_rowling I know what I'd do.
— Carol Jones - Agent 8673 (@CJ83672372) March 20, 2024
"Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war"
Lines were crossed that far exceeds the usual onslaught from incel keyboard warriors. https://t.co/QJMG1osiYu pic.twitter.com/6cxZ6FsLxE
Oh, come on, if you are going to use a gif with Rowling, it should be a Harry Potter gif. Maybe with Hermione Granger? Seriously, we are pretty sure that is in the TSMSFKA Twitter terms of service!
Finally, a new explanation for the acronym FAFO:
Fluff around and find out.
— NDAndrew (@FrjalsiFenrir) March 20, 2024
*Snort.*
***
Editor’s Note: Do you enjoy Twitchy’s conservative reporting taking on the radical left and woke media? Support our work so that we can continue to bring you the truth. Join Twitchy VIP and use the promo code SAVEAMERICA to get 50% off your VIP membership!
Join the conversation as a VIP Member