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Indian broadcaster Willoughby said it has filed a police complaint against “Harry Potter” author JK Rowling for alleged transphobia.
in a interview with Byline TV On Wednesday night, Willoughby, a former “Celebrity Big Brother” contestant and “Loose Women” co-host, claimed she reported Rowling to Northumbria Police for repeatedly misgendering her online as part of an ongoing dispute.
“JK Rowling has definitely committed a crime. I am legally a woman. She knows I am a woman and she called me a man,” Willoughby said in the interview. “It is a protected characteristic and that constitutes a breach of both the Equality Act and the Gender Recognition Act. “She tweeted it to 14 million followers.”
Willoughby continued: “I have reported JK Rowling to the police for what she said, which I don’t know if it will be treated as a hate crime, malicious communications, but it is a simple crime, as far as I’m concerned.”
Representatives from Northumbria Police and Rowling did not immediately respond to VarietyRequest for comments.
Rowling responded to Willoughby’s revelation on X, formerly known as Twittersaying that he had consulted a lawyer who said “that not only did I have a clearly winnable case against India Willoughby for defamation, but that India’s obsessive pursuit of me over the past few years may meet the legal threshold for harassment.”
The author went on to state that “gender-critical opinions can be legally protected as a philosophical belief. “No law forces anyone to pretend to believe that India is a woman.”
Rowling added: “Aware as I am that lying to the authorities is a crime, I will simply have to explain to the police that, in my opinion, India is a classic example of the narcissistic man living in a state of perpetuity.” “It makes me angry that I can’t force women to take it based on their own assessment.”
Rowling has been criticized in recent years for her views on the transgender community, particularly trans women, who many have perceived as anti-trans. Her comments have been criticized by people in the “Harry Potter” world, including Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint and Eddie Redmayne. However, on a Feb. 23 earnings call, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav said executives recently met with Rowling about Max’s upcoming “Harry Potter” series.
“We spent a lot of time with JK and his team,” Zaslav said on the call. “Both parties are delighted to reignite this franchise. Our conversations were great and we couldn’t be more excited about what lies ahead. “We can’t wait to share a decade of new stories with fans around the world on Max.”