Rowling has also made headlines for her controversial comments, unrelated to the books. As the BBC reported, “Rowling has been accused of being transphobic for her views on gender identity and for saying trans women shouldn't be allowed into female-only spaces.”
The author also challenged police to arrest her under a new hate crime law after describing several trans women as men. And she's had public spats with Harry Potter film stars Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson, when they came to the defence of the trans community.
Just recently, Rowling was accused of cyberbullying, following her comments about Algerian Olympic boxer Imane Khelif. Rowling was named alongside Elon Musk in a formal criminal complaint. French authorities were asked to investigate alleged “acts of aggravated cyber harassment”.
Despite the controversy, and several attempts to cancel J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter lives on. Sales of digital Harry Potter books totalled $61.4 million last year, a jump from the previous year. Book sales via Bloomsbury were also up by 15% in 2023. Meanwhile, the artwork for the cover of Rowling’s first Potter book sold for $1.9m at an auction in June this year.
