J.K. Rowling has said she doesn’t care if her views on transgender rights have damaged her legacy, saying she’ll “be dead”.
The Harry Potter author has generated widespread controversy with a number of remarks that many have perceived as transphobic across the past two years. However, Rowling has shrugged off concerns that she may have destroyed her legacy when it comes to her controversial views.
Appearing on the podcast The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling, hosted by Megan Phelps-Roper, the writer was asked if she thought about her legacy and how things she said impacted how she’d be viewed in years to come. As per The Independent, the author said: “Whatever. I’ll be dead.”
She added: “I think you could not have misunderstood me more profoundly. I do not walk around my house thinking about my legacy, what a pompous way to live your life thinking about what my legacy will be. Whatever! I’ll be dead, I care about now, the living.”
Rowling also said she never meant to “upset” people, but defended her right to espouse her views on various subjects. She said: “I never set out to upset anyone. However, I was not uncomfortable with getting off my pedestal.”
The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling, is described as an “audio documentary that examines some of the most contentious conflicts of our time through the life and career of the world’s most successful author.”
In the interviews conducted by Phelps Roper at Rowling’s home in Edinburgh, Scotland, the author “speaks with unprecedented candor and depth about the controversies surrounding her – from book bans to debates on gender and sex.”
The series also features interviews with Rowling’s supporters and critics, as well as journalists, historians, “clinicians and more.”
The seven-episode podcast series launched today with the release of the first two episodes on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and other audio platforms. The following episodes will be released weekly.
Elsewhere, Hogwarts Legacy, the new open-world role-playing game set in Rowling’s Wizarding World, recently introduced the franchise’s first-ever trans character. The author has no creative influence on the game, but does profit from its sales.