BBC receives 200 complaints after radio guest calls JK Rowling ‘transphobic’

The BBC reportedly received 199 complaints after Evan Davis allowed a guest on Radio 4’s PM show to claim JK Rowling was transphobic without “sufficient” challenge.

Stacey Henley, a transgender woman and editor-in-chief of The Gamer, appeared on the show to discuss the new video game Hogwarts Legacy earlier this month.

The Harry Potter author did not have any involvement in the concept or writing of the game, but will receive royalties from its sales.

During the conversation, Henley spoke about Rowling’s “nasty views” and accused her of pushing “transphobia” and a “campaign against trans people”.

The author has faced a sustained backlash in recent years for statements she’s made about gender ideology, which many critics and prominent voices in the LGBT+ community have described as “transphobic”. Rowling has repeatedly denied that she is transphobic.

The BBC, which “must remain duly impartial” per its own guidelines, later apologised for the exchange, after listeners said it presented an “unfair characterisation” of Rowling’s views, according to Deadline.

“We do accept that there wasn’t sufficient challenge to the claims that were made and that we fell short here,” the BBC said in a statement.

“This is a difficult and contentious area which we do try very hard to cover fairly and well on the BBC. However, we should have challenged Stacey Henley more directly on her claims and apologise that we did not.”

Davis acknowledged the criticism, too, tweeting on 2 February: “I think perhaps we got stuck because we were actually trying hard NOT to debate @jk_rowling or the substance of her views. We hadn’t intended or cast it that way.”

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Rowling this week announced the release of a forthcoming podcast entitled The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling, which will address her views on the trans community.

“I never set out to upset anyone. However, I was not uncomfortable with getting off my pedestal,” Rowling says in the trailer for the podcast.

News of the complaints against the BBC come a day after two 15-year-olds were charged with the murder of 16-year-old trans girl Brianna Ghey.

Vigils for Ghey are due to be held across the country in the coming days.