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Users on social media have sensationally turned on author JK Rowling after she made a tweet aimed at actor David Tennant.
Posting on X, Rowling, 59, aimed a joke at the Doctor Who star after the Conservative Party chose Kemi Badenoch to be their new leader.
Earlier this year, Tennant, 53, traded barbs with the new Tory leader after saying that he wished Badenoch would ‘shut up’ while accepting an LGBT ally award.
His comments came after the MP for North West Essex, 44, supported her party’s pledge ahead of the 2024 election to protect single sex spaces in the Equality Act.
The pledge was welcomed by self-dubbed ‘gender critical’ social media users, who oppose the expansion and protection of transgender rights in Britain.
With Badenoch having risen to the very top of the Tory party, Rowling weighed in with her own comments, tweeting: ‘My thoughts and prayers are with David Tennant at this very difficult time.’
The fantasy author’s tweet hasn’t gone down well, though, only reminding people of the actor’s flourishing career, while fans celebrated having wonderful allies like the Doctor Who star to be thankful for.
On X, @RachLove responded: ‘Pretty sure David Tennant is too busy being a popular worldwide superstar, ally and humongous talent to give one s**t about either of you.’
Meanwhile, @Luke_Kel1 celebrated Tennant’s life and career while defending him: ‘I assure you picking a fight with David Tennant, a national treasure no less, is not a good look.’
@LukeVials tweeted, ‘God forbid David Tennant stands up for his own children,’ referencing a November 2023 Instagram post made by Tennant’s wife that addressed their 10-year-old child with non-binary pronouns.
@JamesPrescott77 reacted to the story: ‘Love how JK tweeted this to harm David Tennant but all it’s done is bring out love and support and good stories about him.’
While accepting the LGBT ally award in June, Tennant spoke of of Badenoch’s comments at the time: ‘I don’t wish ill of her, I just wish her to shut up.’
The new Tory leader then responded: ‘I will not shut up. I will not be silenced by men who prioritise applause from Stonewall over the safety of women and girls.
‘A rich, lefty, white male celebrity so blinded by ideology he can’t see the optics of attacking the only black woman in government by calling publicly for my existence to end.’
At the time, Tennant received support from Labour MP Dawn Butler, who has continued to criticise Badenoch on social media numerous times.
This episode is the latest in a long-running saga involving the Wizarding World creator and transgender rights, with her social media activity on the subject going back as far as the late 2010s.
While Harry Potter stars Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint have all made comments in support of trans rights, Rowling’s opinion has veered in the opposite direction.
Earlier this year in a post on X, she referred to transgender women as ‘crossdressing straight men’ and accused the community of ‘caricaturing women’.
Some fans watching the commotion on social media took a moment to remind Rowling that Tennant had starred in the fourth Harry Potter film, the Goblet of Fire.
Released in 2005, the Goblet of Fire was adapted from Rowling’s novel of the same name. Tennant starred as mysterious villain Bartemius Crouch Jr.
In recent years, the Scottish actor has been a vocal supporter of the LGBT community and has been spotted wearing various t-shirts and badges declaring said support.
So, too, has his wife Georgia, who appeared at the Baftas earlier this year showing off a tattoo that declared her support for transgender rights in the UK.
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