JK Rowling gives back award after criticism of her views on trans issues

JK Rowling has returned the Ripple of Hope Award from Robert F Kennedy Human Rights after the group criticised the author for her recent comments on transgender people.

Rowling was bestowed with the honour in December 2019 for her work with children’s charity, Lumos.

However, earlier this month, Kerry Kennedy, president of RFKHR, issued a statement, expressing "dismay" over Rowling's "deeply troubling transphobic tweets and statements".

In June, Rowling had stirred up a massive controversy when she criticised an opinion piece that used the phrase "people who menstruate" and posited that discussion of gender identity invalidates biological sex.

In her tweets, Rowling had said that if sex isn't real, there's no same-sex attraction.

"If sex isn't real, the lived reality of women globally is erased. I know and love trans people, but erasing the concept of sex removes the ability of many to meaningfully discuss their lives. It doesn't hate to speak the truth," she wrote.

On Thursday, Rowling posted a statement on her official website, saying that Kennedy "incorrectly implied" that she is "transphobic, and that I am responsible for harm to trans people".

"As a longstanding donor to LGBT charities and a supporter of trans people’s right to live free of persecution, I absolutely refute the accusation that I hate trans people or wish them ill, or that standing up for the rights of women is wrong, discriminatory, or incites harm or violence to the trans community," she added.

She said thousands of women had got in touch with her to show their support and called for more nuanced debate.

Rowling said that she is returning the award to express solidarity with people who supported her and because of the "very serious conflict of views between myself and RFKHR".

"I am deeply saddened that RFKHR has felt compelled to adopt this stance, but no award or honour, no matter my admiration for the person for whom it was named, means so much to me that I would forfeit the right to follow the dictates of my own conscience," she concludes her statement.