J.K. Rowling and John Oliver Are Still Fighting Over Transgender Athletes

J.K. Rowling and John Oliver have resumed their fight over transgender athletes. Oliver dedicated his most recent episode of Last Week Tonight to the right’s obsession with transgender competitors in sports. Rowling responded to the segment on social media share her thoughts, calling Oliver “a sellout” and telling the comedian to “read the fucking room.”

Oliver and Rowling have faced off on this issue before. In November, Oliver argued on his program that there is no evidence that trans athletes “pose any threat to safety or fairness.” In response, Rowling claimed on social media that Oliver was “happy to watch females suffer injury, humiliation and the loss of sporting opportunities.” On the most recent episode of Last Week Tonight, Oliver dug in deeper, dedicating the bulk of his program to conservative’s “obsession” with transgender athletes—specifically legislation seeking to ban them from competition at the school level.

During the episode, Oliver called out Rowling directly while arguing that there is no significant reason to ban transgender athletes from competing in their chosen sport. “It feels a bit weird to catch that much heat from the creator of Harry Potter, especially when I clearly look like what would have happened to him if they left him in that cupboard for the rest of his life,” he joked. Oliver went on to say that he stands by everything he said on the issue last year, and highlighted how transphobic conversations often turn when discussing transgender athletes.

“You can basically say anything you want about trans people, as long as you tag on ‘in sports’ after it,” he said.

Rowling, of course, felt the need to reiterate her well-documented opinions on trans issues after Oliver’s episode. She took to X to disparage Oliver and other entertainers who have come out in support of transgender athletes. “I understand why men like Oliver, who’ve consistently mocked anti-science people on the right, sold out initially,” posted Rowling. “They didn’t want to blow up their careers. Taking fashionable anti-women’s rights positions was the cost of doing business. But it’s time to read the fucking room.”

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In a reply post, Rowling continued her anti-trans tirade. “They’re still regurgitating Twitter TRA [trans rights activist] talking points from 2020,” she wrote. “I can’t imagine anyone being so far up their own backside they haven’t noticed that this nonsensical crap is facing a massive grassroots backlash, that it loses elections and that girls and women are being harmed.”

Rowling’s opinions on trans issues are well-documented. The Harry Potter scribe spends much of her time on social media, writing frequently and pejoratively about the trans community. Her commitment to anti-trans rhetoric has caused Harry Potter stars Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson to speak out against her. In March, Rowling seemingly addressed the rift between herself and that trio on social media in a response to a post that asked:,“What actor/actress instantly ruins a movie for you?” Rowling wrote: “Three guesses. Sorry, but that was irresistible,” adding three laughing emojis.

Nevertheless, HBO is working with Rowling on a television adaptation of the Harry Potter books, with prolific actor John Lithgow recently cast as Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore. While Oliver is also an HBO employee, it’s probably safe to say he will not be getting an audition to play a Hogwarts professor anytime soon.