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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Entertainment
Rachael Revesz

JK Rowling is accused by MP of supporting 'misogynist' trolls

JK Rowling has demanded an apology from a Glasgow-based MP Natalie McGarry for accusing her of “copying up” to online trolls who post misogynist tweets.

The Twitter spat on Thursday started with Ms McGarry, who represents Glasgow East constituency, accusing the author of “defending misogynist trolls” and said she “regretted” queuing up to buy Ms Rowling’s books.

When asked for evidence by Ms Rowling, the Scottish National Party MP said the author had tweeted “support” of a user called “Brian Spanner”.

The multi-millionaire questioned whether the argument was due to the fact that she had thanked “Brian Spanner” account for raising money for her children’s charity Lumos.

“You aren't some random hater, Natalie. You're an elected politician and you've accused me of supporting abuse and misogyny.”

“So you need to provide some evidence for that or I'm going to need an apology,” Ms Rowling added.

Ms McGarry accused Ms Rowling of “bullying her” and said she has a “school in internet abuse” because she “interacts with trolls.”

Rather than continuing the debate, the MP told her followers she was stepping onto a plane and users could "scream your uninformed Twitter outrage into the empty void" in the meantime.

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