JK Rowling picture removed at Exeter Wetherspoon pub

-Credit: (Image: DevonLive)
-Credit: (Image: DevonLive)


Wetherspoon has removed a picture of JK Rowling from a pub in Exeter. For many years the portrait has been hung up alongside many other celebrities and historic figures with connections to the city.

The framed photo was a nod to the Harry Potter author's time at the University of Exeter, where she studied French and classics in the 1980s. It was once rumoured that locations in the city such as The Old Fire House pub and Gandy Street had inspired scenes from the much-loved book series but these were later dispelled as mere urban legends.

Nonetheless, she has remained one of the most well-known people to have lived and studied in Exeter. But it seems the writer's connection to the city is not necessarily celebrated.

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Pubgoers may have recently noticed that there is a gap where Rowling's portrait once was at The Chevalier Inn on Fore Street. Wetherspoon, which owns the pub in the city centre, has confirmed that it took the photo down because it was defaced but has promised to replace it.

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Wetherspoon spokesman Eddie Gershon said: "The picture was removed as it was unfortunately vandalised. Wetherspoon will replace it with the same or similar picture of JK Rowling as soon as possible."

The reason why the photo was damaged has not been confirmed and it appears that pictures of other famous faces that hang on the walls, including those of Charles Dickens, Tommy Cooper and Sir Francis Drake, have not been targeted.

The Chevalier Inn, a Wetherspoon pub on Fore Street in Exeter city centre -Credit:DevonLive
The Chevalier Inn, a Wetherspoon pub on Fore Street in Exeter city centre -Credit:DevonLive

JK Rowling has been criticised in recent years for her views on transgender discourse. She denies being transphobic but said in 2020 that she had concerns about trans-activism, citing fears about its impact on freedom of speech, women's safety and claiming it was "pushing to erode the legal definition of sex and replace it with gender".

She also poked fun at an article which used the term "people who menstruate". Later, she went on to dub hormone therapy "a new kind of conversion therapy" and said she would "happily do two years" in prison for refusing to use a person's preferred pronouns.

In an apparent response to the novelist's comments on transgender issues, Harry Potter film stars including Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint have openly supported the transgender community, including saying "Transgender women are women".