Celeb supporters of jkr

[RyanBergarasTeeth]

Can we have a thread on celebs that have come out with supportive messages for jk rowling? The ones i have seen so far:

Jonathan Ross (although a shit house scared of his daughters)
Robert webb
David baddiel
Kirsty Alsopp

Any others?

[Runningjump]

Michelle Trachtenberg perhaps?

On the day of JKR's tweet she posted on Instagram a signed copy of her Harry Potter book signed by Joss Whedon. She later edited her post to say it had no deeper meaning, that she just so happened to find the book that day and she essentially told people to stop giving her shit for posting it.

Although not necessarily an active show of support, she didn't throw JKR under the bus or delete the post, as a lot of others would have. I'm also inclined to believe it may not have been a coincidence that she posted the picture on that day.

[Signalbox]

Anthony Horowitz saying that he’d signed the letter in support but his name wasn’t added...

mobile.twitter.com/AnthonyHorowitz/status/1310274345009385472

[Manderleyagain]

Tony Robinson has tweeted that he would have been happy to sign the letter in support of jkr.

[DadDadDad]

John Cleese just tweeted his criticism of those who viciously attacked JKR (specifically for her latest book).

twitter.com/JohnCleese/status/1310245690228998146

[Malahaha]

He hasn't come out specifically for JKR, but I just happened across this speech by Rowan Atkinson on Free Speech, and it's brilliant. I think he's a silent supporter; it's from 2018, but particularly valid today.

It's really good.

[OunceOfFlounce]

Also Robbie Coltrane (a.k.a. Hagrid himself) and Brian Cox the actor.

[TheShoesa]

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/4034933-Open-Letter-from-Autors-and-Entertainers-in-Support-of-JKR

Just adding this here. Really pleased to see some of the names added to this letter

[lionheart]

Not exactly JKR support but certainly related. The context is a conservative ad which points out liberal/democrat extremism.

Here is Alley's response to the inevitable cry of transphobia that it elicits:

Kirstie Alley
@kirstiealley

'Bullshit! An adult deciding on a sex change operation after puberty and a child getting a sex change operation are two entirely different situations. Nothing to do with Transphobia.. EVERYTHING to do with the well being of minors.'

[Mumfun]

I found the Andrew Doyle interview helpful as a short succinct summary so decided to transcribe it. Its his Sky interview here: twitter.com/andrewdoyle_com/status/1299713642229829632

ANDREW DOYLE Yes you will have seen JK Rowling in the press a number of times over the past few months surrounding this issue. The latest development is that she has returned an award that she was given last year, this was the Ripple of Hope honour by the Robert F Kennedy Foundation emmm and what has happened is that the President of that foundation, Kerry Kennedy who is the daughter of Robert Kennedy has said that JK Rowling is effectively transphobic , that she has expressed views that diminish the identity of transpeople. This is an absolutely shameful accusation . I have to say that I have never seen anyone more misrepresented generally speaking than JK Rowling over the past couple of months, and if anyone is actually interested in what she generally believes, they can read JK Rowling’s very sensitive and compassionate blog post that she published a couple of months and she outlined her concerns. And what she is saying is that she is concerned about women’s rights. She is worried that single sex spaces can be compromised if someone can simply identify as a woman, and all of this is coming out of her experience as a victim of domestic abuse and she believes that biological sex is a reality. These are all legitimate positions to hold , not only that, they are the positions of most people in the country, but what is happening is a very small group..
INTERRUPTED BY INTERVIEWER
INTERVIEWER: To be fair Andrew, to be fair she has really upset a lot of transgender people in this country, who feel absolutely undermined by what she has said
ANDREW DOYLE I actually disagree with that. A lot of the support that has come out for Rowling has come from transpeople themselves and they don’t like the fact that transpeople are being smeared by this small group of very aggressive activists who, I’m afraid to say, have expressed extreme misogyny towards JK Rowling. I’ve seen a lot of the abuse that’s being going on . A lot of it does come from a place of misogyny , and as Blaire White, the American trans writer has pointed out, transpeople are sick of it and they don’t like these attacks that are going on, particularly the misogynistic abuse. And I think JK Rowling has been extremely courageous , standing up for her principles, refusing to be bullied, refusing to be silenced and I think we should all take a leaf out of that book, and I don’t like the fact that she has been misrepresented and I think it’s unfair

[SunsetBeetch]

Hollywood is indeed very woke. And very hypocritical. And very removed from normal life.

So I'm not at all surprised that the celebrities mentioned in this thread are "a bit D-list", as someone so sneeringly put it. Or that they sound like normal people who have actually put some thought into this.

Julia Roberts is never going to have to use one of those "gender neutral bathrooms" she's so looking forward to in Middlesbrough McDonald's, is she? Or know anybody who will.

[Igneococcus]

Share token:

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/19575bde-cc16-11e9-a4b5-53d64ae29b47?shareToken=4c205e7c9d801f0b6912d5417a901d4a

[yourhairiswinterfire]

Andrew Doyle (Titania McGrath) on Sky News.

twitter.com/andrewdoyle_com/status/1299713642229829632

(Video is in the Twitter link).

[MoreJammyDodgersPlease]

Mary Peters in The Times. Sorry, I don't have a share token.

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/olympic-star-mary-peters-charges-into-trans-athletes-row-mn5fb6nch?fbclid=IwAR2Op5WD77mXh_-jn98IxJMusDZBjA088Tld9CrquupFYTXxnIrGL5n-sbs

[Abhannmor]

@stumbledin

On one level it is irrelevant who is, or even tentatively supporting JKR.

The way the main stream media in going all out to show who is against her, their muffled voices make not difference. Although some like YAB have said she wont discuss in public any more. And there are more than a few others. But always its just so traumatic, cant we have a quiet discussion.

Apart from Suzanne Moore in the Telegraph which has quite a big circulation and Janice Turner (it was quite small though wasn't it) in the Times, the papers are an onslaught on JKR being pilloried.

However have just seen that Gina Davidson in the Scotsman (doubly brave in Scotland) has written a real good and positive piece supporting the issues that JKR is writing about. www.scotsman.com/news/opinion/columnists/why-abuse-jk-rowling-problem-trans-rights-activists-gina-davidson-2881971

Seriously, please remember less that 20% of the population is on twitter. It is what the papers and tv news are saying that is setting the agenda for most people.

I read somewhere it's 15% of ppl in the UK . Only 8% of the world. A tiny self reinforcing bubble.

[Fantasisa]

So the ones who are saying nothing, all agree with you and the ones who say they don’t are all lying anyway? Hoo boy.

I didn't say 'all' I said 'a lot'. I think very, very few people actually really believe TWAW. Because it is completely and utterly false. It has become a mantra that people parrot to 'be kind' without actually thinking about the ramifications.

[Muttonindistress]

[quote SunsetBeetch]Strike stars stand ul for JKR, although they do not weigh in on the trans debate.

More integrity and talent than the Harry Potter lot.

www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/2020-08-24/strike-holliday-grainger-jk-rowling/amp/[/quote]
I felt it was a bit out of order for the interviewer to ask the question as it was irrelevant to interview, but I was very impressed by the actors’ answers. As you say, they managed to show support for JKR without taking sides in the debate (which I certainly don’t blame them for). Makes you wonder why the Harry Potter lot couldn’t have done the same. Is it because the US movie industry is ultra woke? Their statements did seem very scripted/ brainwashed compared to the Strike actors.

[Mollscroll]

I think that is correct. Woke cookies to be won by endorsing this ideology. Opprobrium and loss of income if you publicly object. So everyone who agrees should be jumping up and down shouting out their approval. But actually only a few are and even then they are mostly the young and relatively untalented who cannot afford to cause any ructions. Looking at you younger Harry Potter actors. And Jameela . Actually I think Jameela is a true believer but then she also believes she’s queer because she once had some gay friends and quite fancied a girl from school.

One can only conclude that the silent mostly agree. And that would be in line with the views of the silent majority in society as a whole who mostly don’t know this is happening and when they do find out think it’s insane.

[Lisz]

So the ones who are saying nothing, all agree with you and the ones who say they don’t are all lying anyway? Hoo boy.

[Priord]

Zac Goldsmith
twitter.com/zacgoldsmith/status/1299442425287639040?s=21

Never tried to link before, hope it works.

[Fantasisa]

I've come to the conclusion that any celebrity who hasn't said TWAW are GC. The ones who stay silent are GC.

And even a lot of them who have said TWAW will have only said it because they are scared about their careers.

[ThinEndoftheWedge]

secondary sex characteristics

I never get the point of this as if that is evidence of continuum of sex.

Many men have bigger boobs than I. That doesn’t make them more female or me as a size A/B cup more male.

[Wondersense]

@pappyon

But there are inherent issues with the simple biological model which mean that doesn't work in all cases. Whether you refer to chromosomes, hormones, primary or secondary sex characteristics, there are cases that exist which mean that there are no solid biological definition that will include everything that is a 'woman' and exclude everything that is not

Male & female are biological binaries, models that are designed to reproduce. That means that a healthy man and a healthy woman would produce a baby if they had sex. That's what we are physically designed for, but every system has anomalies, an exception doesn't make the rule.

[Billi77]

All a bit D list so far...

[Wondersense]

@pappyon

OK so if spaces are separated on the basis of race, is that how they should stay, no matter how much someone wants to be there?

I am normally pretty polite online even if I disagree with someone, but your comment leads me to think you are either about 12 years old, or have a low I.Q to make a comparison of race segregation and sex segregation. Honestly. Where does one fucking start??

Maybe on the statistics of male sexual violence? Maybe in realising that the feelings of one do not trump the safety and dignity of women. Maybe with saying that it's not women's fault that men cannot accept or behave well towards flamboyant or camp men, and that it shouldn't be up to us to sort it out or make our spaces vulnerable because of it.

[Wondersense]

@TBHno

Robert Webb

Hadley Freeman

Hadley Freeman is great. She's one of the few Guardian writers that has flair & wit.