John Cleese has admitted he is "baffled" by the seizing controversy that has ensued since JK Rowling commented on trans lives.
The 80-year-old Monty Python star tweeted his confusion around the "debate" Friday morning (June 19), and asked users to enlighten him.
It comes after Rowling left countless rattled by her abrupt anti-trans tirade on Twitter and her lengthy follow-up essay, which prompted many to decry the writer's views on sex and gender.
"I'm baffled by the debate over [JK Rowling]," Cleese wrote.
https://twitter.com/JohnCleese/status/1273857988273422336
"Am I right in thinking that if I tomorrow declare myself to be a woman, then anyone who doesn't accept that must hate me?
"This is a genuine request for information, even if the question itself seems odd to many older people?"
An array of trans community leaders, advocacy groups and allies all sought to educate the actor.
If you're a woman and truly know that's true we should respect you enough to believe you when you tell us who you are. That's the loving, kind and even thought it might not seem like it to you at first, truthful thing to do.— Ian Boothby (@IanBoothby) June 19, 2020
https://twitter.com/transscribe/status/1273936072624521222
https://twitter.com/SandyColMc/status/1273928446851395587
Although, some users expressed their fatigue at the need for them to "educate" people considering that Google has existed since 1998.
https://twitter.com/GollyMollyB/status/1273879258440568833
JK Rowling has fielded criticism for her views on trans rights for two years.
Over the last two years, trans Harry Potter fans have watched nervously as Rowling moved from her stoop-sitting approach to trans rights toward, more recently, becoming a full-on commentator.
Concerns were first seeded in 2018 when the writer "liked" a tweet that referred to trans women as "men in dresses".
Rowling's representatives sought to clarify amid the row that this was simply a "middle-aged moment". However since then, her engagement with trans topics has increased.
[caption id="attachment_350437" align="alignnone" width="1024"]
JK Rowling. (Ben Pruchnie/Getty Images)[/caption]
She went onto express explicit support for a British researcher who filed a lawsuit against her former employer claiming she was discriminated against for her anti-trans views.
The high-water moment came when Rowling launched into a string of tweets that ridiculed trans-inclusive language , followed swiftly by a dense essay outlining her opinions on sex and gender.
In the 3,700-word blog post , she wrote: "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 and offering cover to predators."
Since the saga, the holy trinity of Harry Potter's film franchise – Daniel Radcliffe , Emma Watson and Rupert Grint – all denounced and distanced themselves from Rowling, raising morale for trans fans.
Harry Potter readers are now cutting ties with the franchise altogether or working to reimagine the wizarding world without the original creator.
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