‘Hate crime’: UK broadcaster accuses author JK Rowling of misgendering her

British broadcaster India Willoughby has approached the police against author, JK Rowling, alleging the writer misgendered her on social media.

Willoughby referenced a post on X by Rowling, wherein she referred to the broadcaster as ‘he’. Further, in an interview, Willoughby termed it a “hate crime” and called Rowling’s alleged refusal to use her preferred pronouns “insulting” and “dehumanising”.

“At the end of the day, it was a hate crime. Transgender identity is a protected characteristic, just as race is, just as sexuality is,” Willoughby said in an interview with Byline TV.

Willoughby also said she is legally recognised as a woman and claimed to have received “vile” and “disgusting” replies from people after Rowling’s social media posts.

“Her words carry great importance,” Willoughby said about Rowling.

Meanwhile, following the complaint by Willoughby, Rowling, in yet another X post, asserted “the case was winnable” for her.

She also wrote, “Aware as I am that it’s an offence to lie to law enforcement, I’ll simply have to explain to the police that, in my view, India is a classic example of the male narcissist who lives in a state of perpetual rage that he can’t compel women to take him at his own valuation.”

JK Rowling has been under fire in recent years for insisting trans women are men.

Earlier, in October, Rowling said she would “happily” go to jail if it meant being able to continue misgendering people.