Harry Potter author JK Rowling has publicly celebrated US President Donald Trump’s recent executive order banning trans women and girls from competing in female sports.
Rowling, known for her controversial stance on trans rights, took to X to praise the move, which has been widely condemned by LGBTQ+ activists and allies.
Signed by Trump on 5 February, the order states: “In recent years, many educational institutions and athletic associations have allowed men to compete in women’s sports. This is demeaning, unfair and dangerous to women and girls, and denies women and girls the equal opportunity to participate and excel in competitive sports.”
It further asserts that the US government will oppose “male competitive participation in women’s sports more broadly, as a matter of safety, fairness, dignity and truth.”
Rowling shared an image of Trump surrounded by young female athletes following the signing, sarcastically addressing those who support trans inclusion: “Congratulations to every single person on the left who’s been campaigning to destroy women’s and girls’ rights. Without you, there’d be no images like this.”
This is not the first time Rowling has weighed in on trans participation in sports. During the last Olympics, she criticised Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, who had previously been disqualified from the World Championships over eligibility concerns.
Despite the International Olympic Committee clarifying that Khelif was not transgender and had met all eligibility requirements for the Paris Games, Rowling referred to the boxer—who was born female—as a “male.”
Following Khelif’s victory over Italy’s Angela Carini, Rowling shared a photo of the athlete, writing: “Could any picture sum up our new men’s rights movement better? The smirk of a male, who knows he’s protected by a misogynist sporting establishment, enjoying the distress of a woman he’s just punched in the head, and whose life’s ambition he’s just shattered.”
Khelif later went on to win gold in the women’s 66kg category. The boxer has since filed a legal complaint against Rowling, alleging “acts of aggravated cyber harassment.”
