JK Rowling praises Badenoch’s ‘brains and bravery’

JK Rowling wrote: 'I'm delighted a woman who'll stand up for sex-based rights is now leading the opposition'
JK Rowling wrote: ‘I’m delighted a woman who’ll stand up for sex-based rights is now leading the opposition’ - Debra Hurford Brown

JK Rowling has praised Kemi Badenoch’s “brains and bravery” in standing up for women’s rights after Mrs Badenoch was unveiled as the new Conservative leader.

The Harry Potter author and Mrs Badenoch have both vocally opposed gender ideology, with the latter saying during her leadership campaign that a child cannot be trans.

Rowling has voted Labour in the past but is a staunch critic of Sir Keir Starmer, accusing him and the party of “abandoning” gender-critical women such as herself.

Responding to a suggestion that she would be “mad” about the result, Rowling posted on X, formerly Twitter: “On the contrary, I’m delighted a woman who’ll stand up for sex-based rights is now leading the opposition.

“And while there are definitely things we disagree about politically, I admire her brains and her bravery.”

In a separate post, she said of Mrs Badenoch’s victory: “My thoughts and prayers are with David Tennant at this very difficult time.”

Mr Tennant, the Doctor Who star, said in June that he wished Mrs Badenoch “did not exist any more” and should “shut up” because of her views on women’s rights.

Mrs Badenoch criticised Tennant for his controversial remarks, made as he was honoured for his support for the transgender community at the British LGBT Awards.

A staunch advocate of single-sex spaces, Mrs Badenoch claimed during her time as equalities minister that she had strong evidence of gay and autistic young people being told they were trans instead.

She was also in the process of rewriting the Equality Act in order to clarify that “sex” referred to biological sex when the snap election was called in May.

In an interview with Mumsnet last week, she claimed gender identity had escalated to the point “where people say they’re 24 different genders and it’s about how you feel”.

Rowling has always staunchly denied accusations of transphobia after becoming one of the most prominent celebrities to speak out publicly over gender identity issues.

In an essay earlier this year, she said she was witnessing “the greatest assault of my lifetime” on women’s rights and that she would have felt ashamed to stay silent.

She has described the trans rights activist movement, which holds that transgender women are women, as “profoundly misogynistic, regressive, dangerous in some of its objectives and nakedly authoritarian in its tactics”.

Last month, Mrs Badenoch promised to give Rowling a peerage should she become prime minister. But the writer revealed that she had refused honours in the past from both Labour and Conservative governments, saying she would continue to do so.