JK Rowling, David Tennant clash over gender issues in UK election

He became a prominent public advocate for trans kids over the past two years, famously wearing a T-shirt with the words “leave trans kids alone, you absolute freaks” to the launch of the second series of his Amazon Prime fantasy comedy series Good Omens.

During her time in government, Badenoch has advocated for banning trans women from entering women’s toilets and sports teams to protect female rights and safety. Her campaign has involved several broadsides against the police, the media, the NHS and universities over their policies on transgender issues.

She demanded an apology from Tennant and attempted to weaponise his comments to fuel a culture war.

“I will not shut up,” she posted on social media. “A rich, lefty, white male celebrity so blinded by ideology he can’t see the optics of attacking the only black woman in government by calling publicly for my existence to end.”

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Home Secretary James Cleverly were among those to leap to her defence.

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But Dawn Butler, the Labour candidate for Brent East, weighed in to support Tennant, writing: “Not all Black women think the same. I agree with David Tennant.”

Among those to defend the woman who some predict could be a future Tory leader was fellow Scot, author JK Rowling.

The Harry Potter author – a long-time supporter of and donor to British Labour – has faced a sustained backlash in recent years over her outspoken stance on trans issues, and her claims that trans women “are not women”.

She posted a BBC article on social media, which characterised Tennant and Badenoch’s public sparring as a “row”. Rowling labelled Tennant a part of the “gender Taliban”, accusing him of receiving “special dispensation” from the media, “for they are a holy caste”.

Sharing a screenshot of Tennant’s “tiny bunch of little whinging f—ers” comments, she said: “This man is talking about rape survivors who want female-only care, the nurses currently suing their health trust for making them change in front of a man, girls and women losing sporting opportunities to males and female prisoners incarcerated with convicted sex offenders”.

Tennant, who portrayed Barty Crouch Jr in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, joined a growing list of the franchise’s actors who clashed with Rowling on trans issues.

In April, Rowling told Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson – who played Harry and Hermoine – to “save their apologies” for “traumatised detransitioners” after the stars made statements supporting transgender rights.

Rowling’s criticism of left-wing gender politics from the Scottish National Party and Labour, has grown over recent years. In 2021, she was outraged when Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said it was “not right” for Rosie Duffield, a Labour MP who has stressed the importance of biological sex, to say that only women have a cervix.

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In an article for The Times last month, Rowling said she had a “poor opinion” of Starmer’s character, claiming he was “dismissive and often offensive” in respect of women’s concerns about their sex-based rights.

Last week, Starmer clashed with a radio caller who accused him of speaking “absolute twaddle” over access to single-sex spaces.

Asked about Tennant’s comments, Starmer said he “wouldn’t have engaged” with the discussion in the same way.

To much criticism from the LGBTQ community, he hardened his stance this week, saying transgender women do not have a right to access female-only spaces, amid confusion over Labour’s stance on which toilets trans people should use.

In recent days, Labour clarified its position on transgender rights, with its health spokesman Wes Streeting saying the party would “modernise and reform” gender laws if it comes into power on July 4.

The party said it would keep the requirement for a medical diagnosis of gender dysphoria, but that this could now be provided by a single clinician.

Labour has also offered to meet Rowling after Rachel Reeves, the would-be chancellor and the highest-ranking woman in a Starmer government, said she would be “really happy” to “give her assurances” over plans to change the process through which people can legally change gender.

But Rowling remains doubtful Labour is prepared to push back.

“As long as Labour remains dismissive and often offensive towards women fighting to retain the rights their foremothers thought were won for all time, I’ll struggle to support them,” she wrote.

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