Jonathan Ross’s daughter Honey defies her father by criticising JK Rowling’s ‘transphobic’ tweets

‘Harry Potter and the Audacity of This B***h’

Jonathan Ross’s daughter Honey has criticised JK Rowling as she continues to face backlash after a series of comments she made were deemed “transphobic”.

Rowling, who is “gender critical”, sparked outrage on Saturday night (6 June) after responding to an article talking of “people who menstruate”, by asking why they weren’t referred to as women.

The 23-year-old criticised the writer only hours after her TV host father came out in defence of the Harry Potter author.

Ross began his Tweet in defence of Rowling: “I just ate too many brownies. Again.”

He continued: “Oh, and also. @jk_rowling is both right and magnificent. For those accusing her of transphobia, please read what she wrote. She clearly is not.”

In response to a follower who suggested that Ross wasn’t knowledgeable enough to speak on the subject, the broadcaster replied: “Well I think you’re sort of wrong,” later expanding: “It is a heated and rather troubling debate. But hopefully people will find space to both talk and listen.”

Honey took to Instagram to express her outrage. She shared to her story a photoshopped image of the book cover of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix in which the title had been changed to “Harry Potter and the Audacity of This B***h”.

She then shared a tweet by a Twitter user who accused Rowling of “hating trans people”.

It said: “Jk rowling really looked at a world protesting en masse against racism and police brutality and said u know what this is the perfect time to use my platform to remind everyone I hate trans people ???????”

The backlash began after Rowling shared an article titled: “Opinion: Creating a more equal post-COVID-19 world for people who menstruate”.

The author continued to tweet: “‘People who menstruate’. I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?”

She added: “If sex isn’t real, there’s no same-sex attraction. If sex isn’t real, the lived reality of women globally is erased. I know and love trans people, but erasing the concept of sex removes the ability of many to meaningfully discuss their lives. It isn’t hate to speak the truth.

“I respect every trans person’s right to live any way that feels authentic and comfortable to them. I’d march with you if you were discriminated against on the basis of being trans. At the same time, my life has been shaped by being female. I do not believe it’s hateful to say so.”

In response to Rowling's comments, many people have pointed out that transgender, non-binary and non-gender conforming people can also menstruate.