J.K. Rowling Says Her Views on Trans Activism Have Not Changed

J.K. Rowling has published a new essay on her website saying her views on trans activism have not changed. The piece went up on Wednesday, 21 October 2026, and runs to more than 2,000 words. Variety reported on it the same day.

The essay is called "An Update to My Essay of June 2020." The page carries a warning that it contains adult content and is not suitable for children. It is also listed on the "In My Own Words" section of her site, where she collects her own writing.

Rowling says it has been six years since she first explained, in June 2020, why she had spoken up on trans issues. That earlier essay was about 3,600 words long. Reuters reported at the time that it linked her own experience of sexual assault with her concern about trans women in single-sex spaces, such as women's toilets and changing rooms.

In the new piece, Rowling writes that she has faced an "avalanche of death, rape and torture threats" over her objection to what she calls the dominant strain of trans activism. She also says that, apart from those threats, the controversy has not noticeably affected her life. RTÉ reported that she said she will keep speaking out.

She describes 21st-century trans activism as elitist. The essay also refers to last year's ruling by the UK Supreme Court, which found that the word "woman" in equality law refers to biological sex. Rowling's own charity, the J.K. Rowling Women's Fund, helped financially support the feminist group that brought that legal challenge. The fund, according to the essay, continues to assist people taking legal action.

The essay comes a week after a theatre event that drew attention of its own. Variety reported that trans activists disrupted the London premiere of a new version of Rowling's play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by storming the red carpet.

Rowling's essay links back to her 2020 piece, which is on jkrowling.com for anyone who wants to read both side by side.