Boy George has branded JK Rowling a “bored rich bully” in a social media argument about trans rights.
Harry Potter author Rowling, 59, has faced repeated backlash for her comments about gender ideology in the past few years, with some critics accusing her of transphobia.
After a controversial Supreme Court ruling in April declared that trans females are not women, Rowling celebrated the move by posting a photo of herself holding a drink and a cigar with the caption: “I love it when a plan comes together.”
Culture Club singer George, 64, waded into the row when a user on X accused Rowling of being “the person maybe most responsible for the push to take away trans rights”.
Rowling asked the user, “Which rights have been taken away from trans people?” to which George replied: “The right to be left alone by a rich bored bully!”
Rowling hit back with a lengthy response in whcih she referenced George being sentenced to 15 months in prison in 2009 after he was convicted of the assault and false imprisonment of male escort Audun Carlsen.
“I’ve never been given 15 months for handcuffing a man to a wall and beating him with a chain,” she wrote.
“You yourself have been convicted of violent assault. The overwhelming number of people who commit crimes of violence are male, just like you.
“That’s why I don’t want to see men identifying into women’s prison cells or any of the spaces mentioned above. Not all men are violent or predatory but enough are to make safeguarding necessary.”
The children’s book author added: “As we both know, the safe, fashionable thing in the arts world right now is to do exactly what you’re doing: parrot TWAW [trans women are women] and sneer at the unenlightened plebs who think sex is important and matters.”
There are many differences between us, George, but some are particularly relevant to this debate.
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) June 15, 2025
1. You're a man and I'm a woman.
2. You've been wealthy and famous since your early 20s. I didn't become well known until I was well over 30.
3. I've never been given 15 months… https://t.co/bBbG9NPNKm
“For a man who was once all about non-conformity, George, you couldn’t have become more predictably or more tediously conformist,” she concluded.
Many celebrities have criticised Rowling’s gender-critical views in recent weeks, including Harry Potter stars and actor Pedro Pascal.
On April 17, the Supreme Court ruled that the legal definition of “man” and “woman” should be based on “biological sex”, concluding that any other definition would be “incoherent and unworkable”.
It means transgender women with a gender recognition certificate can be excluded from single-sex spaces like toilets and changing rooms, a decision that has sparked global protests and prompted stars like Nicola Coughlan to condemn the “disgusting” move.
The case was brought by a group called For Women Scotland (FWS), which challenged the Scottish government’s definition of “women” in a law governing gender representation on public bards. Rowling funded the group.
I love it when a plan comes together.#SupremeCourt #WomensRights pic.twitter.com/agOkWmhPgb
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) April 16, 2025
Responding to the ruling, Rowling wrote: “It took three extraordinary, tenacious Scottish women with an army behind them to get this case heard by the Supreme Court and, in winning, they’ve protected the rights of women and girls across the UK. @ForWomenScot, I’m so proud to know you.”
Soon afterwards, Eddie Redmayne, star of the Fantastic Beasts films, along with Katie Leung who played Cho Chang in the Harry Potter series, and Charlotte Ritchie, who played a student in The Goblet of Fire, signed an open letter in support of trans people.
The Last Of Us actor Pedro Pascal, whose sister Lux is a trans woman, liked a post shared by activist Tariq Ra’ouf, who urged a boycott of all future Harry Potter projects and branded the author’s views “awful and disgusting”.
Pascal also commented on the post: “Awful disgusting S**T is exactly right. Heinous LOSER behavior.”
