The World's Highest-Paid Author Faces Transphobia Claims

Plus: How California’s Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum Got It Wrong

Morning Banter

J.K. Rowling is in hot water. Yes, again. The Harry Potter author, who has repeatedly been criticized for making anti-trans comments, is now being accused of including a transphobic plotline in her new book Troubled Blood.

The novel is the latest installment of a fictional crime series following private detective Cormoran Strike. The book’s villain is a “psychopathic serial killer” who turns out to be a cross-dresser.

Rowling was the world’s highest-paid author in 2019 with $92 million in earnings, according to Forbes. In recent months, she drew heated controversy over her stated beliefs on sex and gender.

She previously defended her views on the transgender community in a blog post, writing, “I refuse to bow down to a movement that I believe is doing demonstrable harm in seeking to erode ‘woman’ as a political and biological class and offering cover to predators like few before it.”

Send me an email at rumoh@forbes.com.

Quiz Yourself

Which Sex and the City star said that her 23-year-old transgender son was devastated after hearing Rowling’s views?

A) Sarah Jessica Parker
B) Kim Cattrall
C) Kristin Davis
D) Cynthia Nixon

(Answer located at the bottom of this newsletter.)

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Quiz Answer: (D) Cynthia Nixon told The Independent that her 23-year-old transgender son Samuel was devastated after hearing Rowling’s views.