JKR - French national radio

[coldcolder]

So there's just been a "discussion" on French radio station France Inter about JKR. No look at what she actually said, just a statement of fact that she sent an anti-Trans tweet. Apparently there's been a big reduction in Harry Potter sales compared with what might be expected at this time of year. They mentioned the "cancellation culture" for people who have "retrograde views", and that fans were anyway pissed off with her for insisting on controlling the Harry Potter world by writing sequels, which prevented them from imagining it for themselves.
I'd put money on the person reporting it never having read the tweet.

Less than a fifth of the UK population are on Twitter, I think. And even then most people aren't properly active on it. It's a few people (largely white, university-educated, reasonably well off, and who have the time to dick about on there) making a lot of noise. 1 million likes or retweets might look impressive but it's a drop in the ocean of actual people out there, and certainly not representative.

Only the self absorbed youth of today would complain about an author writing a sequel and it impacting on them by preventing them from imagining it themselves.

I genuinely don't understand it. Surely you just wouldn't read/watch it...? I liked Harry Potter but never felt any urge to read the follow-ups.

It feels a bit like those people who comment on articles, saying, "What a pointless article! I'm not interested in this!"
Well, ignore it then! Obviously some people are interested in it, and no one's got a fucking gun to your head making you read it!

Yep - just looked and my limes disappeared too 🤷‍♀️

You can buy Twitter “likes” anyway, which indicates the utter unreliability of using those as a means of assessing popularity.

Given that Twitter has capped Joanne Rowling‘s Tweets at a ludicrously low number, very likely the opposite is occurring when it comes to Emma Watson’s.

Twitter supports Yaniv, after all... which tells you all you need to know about their moral and ethical stance on these matters.

So what does JKR do? Look at Emma Watson's twitter likes and decide to start tweeting stuff based on the "new biology" that human beings can change sex? Think "I can't tweet anti-science so I guess I'll have to be silent"? Or remind herself in a resigned fashion that in a climate of abject fear and craven backing-downs, that someone who's big enough needs to take a stand?

I also meant to say that I am horrified at the disappearing limes. Citrusphobia is one of the worst phobias.

I’ve just checked (I only use twatter to moan at companies and log in rarely) and found my follow and likes of her are missing.

Regardless she’s clever enough to know that twitter isn’t in tune with the real world in the slightest.

Isn’t she lovely replying to all the artwork too?

Wankers. She's the one who created that world so she can do what the hell she likes with it......oh sorry I forgot she's a woman so that must been she must give up the work of her life so that others can control it for her.

@Bloomburger

Only the self absorbed youth of today would complain about an author writing a sequel and it impacting on them by preventing them from imagining it themselves.

FGS. I hope they get their heads wobbled when they go out into the big wide world!

I grew up with Harry Potter and I'm concerned that today's younger in their 20s have a real problem with the idea of a creative person having total freedom over their own work. People expect to have a say in someone else's creative output, to be able to dictate what happens to the characters, to decide what their ethnicities or sexual preferences are and they can get terribly upset or angry if they can't. I'm a millennial person who is involved in the creative industries and so I spend a lot of time online, including Tumbr (which is a strange place).

It's bizarre. It's like they cannot understand the concept that these things come out of the head of a human being. They think that person plucked their ideas out of a collective ether and therefore the public have a right to it, to steal it, to dictate what the person can and cannot do with their own work. It's controlling and unhealthy.

@nauticant

I also meant to say that I am horrified at the disappearing limes. Citrusphobia is one of the worst phobias.

I expect a rise in scurvy cases.

Most people would be deeply troubled by a platform like Twitter manipulating public opinion by deleting likes.

What troubles me is how blatant it is, and how there is no recourse.

JK Rowling's own publisher, I believe, has said she's never been more popular. So I don't think this business is even on the radar of the vast majority of her fans.

And, I suspect even if it was, they would agree with everything she has said. Let's face it, it's not exactly controversial - only amongst a certain set.