Authored by Christian Toto via American Greatness,
Journalists love to ask two questions spun from the same unhinged premise.
Do you support trans women in women’s sports, and do you agree with author J.K. Rowling’s “anti-trans” views?
The former bullies athletes for passing Biology 101. The latter targets the Harry Potter author at every possible turn.
We’re seeing both in action of late. Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham is under media assault for sharing a simple truth about men in women’s sports, a fact supported by science at every turn.
“She’s MAGA Barbie,” select outlets cry!
Rowling is under a fresh attack from an actor lucky enough to snag a role in HBO Max’s hotly anticipated Harry Potter TV series. Bel Powley, who plays Petunia Dursley in the upcoming series, told The Telegraph that she “strongly disagrees” with Rowling’s position on trans issues.
“I strongly disagree with J.K. Rowling’s views on gender. I think that the trans community deserves safety and dignity and respect and total acceptance … but I love Harry Potter. I grew up with the books. I am from that first generation of readers and, again, I love magic and spookiness.”
That’s why Powley took the gig. That, and the paycheck, of course. It’s likely that The Telegraph asked Powley about the Rowling issue and that the actress didn’t bring it up on her own.
Either way, it’s part of a larger, disturbing media trend. Reporters describe anyone who doesn’t embrace the whole activist trans agenda as “anti-trans.” And they never ask the person in question to share specifics on what they’re criticizing or recite the actual comments by the “villain” du jour.
For Cunningham, that means her critics won’t admit the obvious. Men have clear, distinct biological advantages that don’t vanish if they embrace “womanhood” or take hormones. Cunningham spoke very clearly on the issue. She did so without malice or political rhetoric.
The media and the Left, but we repeat ourselves, targeted her anyway.
Rowling also has been very careful in her language on trans issues. She doesn’t wish the trans community harm. Her initial statements on the subject were kind and hardly alienating.
She simply understands the need for separate spaces for biological women while acknowledging the physiological differences between male and female athletes.
Oh, and she’s faced frequent death threats for sharing her commonsense opinions.
Here’s what Rowling wrote in 2020, responding to the very early stages of the Left’s war on the beloved author.
“Trans people need and deserve protection. Like women, they’re most likely to be killed by sexual partners. Trans women who work in the sex industry, particularly trans women of colour, are at particular risk…I feel nothing but empathy and solidarity with trans women who’ve been abused by men.”
Does that sound cruel or hateful? Hardly. Did Powley read Rowling’s long, personal essay on the subject back in 2020? Has she read it lately? Unlikely.
The same is likely true for John Lithgow. The veteran actor plays Professor Dumbledore in the series, and he, too, has been coaxed into savaging Rowling for her trans views. They’re “inexplicable,” Lithgow said. Has he tried speaking with her directly? She’s a key player behind the scenes of the new HBO Max show.
Why not start there?
Has he read everything she’s said on the matter? Where does he agree or disagree? It’s fine to disagree, of course, but he must know the intense cancellation movement she’s faced in recent years.
Or does he realize that the “safe” position in Hollywood for anyone, let alone an 80-year-old actor, is to slam Rowling and leave any critical facts out of the conversation?
To be fair, the legacy media does just that, too.
Christian Toto is the editor of HollywoodInToto.com – “The Right Take on Entertainment.” He’s an award-winning journalist and movie critic whose film reviews are heard on radio stations across the country. He co-hosts Denver’s Mike Rosen at the Movies radio show on KOA NewsRadio as well as the weekly “Hollyweird” segment on The Michael Brown Show.
