How to Fire J.K. Rowling

There is no ethical engagement with Harry Potter

 
 

-BOYCOTT THE HBO SERIES-

“J.K. Rowling is using her wealth attained from the Harry Potter series to create an organization dedicated to removing transgender people's rights ‘in the workplace, in public life, and in protected female spaces.’” -The Advocate

There is no ethical participation in this fandom. If you love and value trans people, you need to move on from Harry Potter.

Check out our community roundup of other fantasy worlds to fall in love with!

How do we fire JK Rowling?

Bigots should not have jobs that allow them to harm people, and JKR has an enormous platform and enormous wealth that she is using to make vulnerable people, including children, less safe.
We, the consumers, are JKRs employers.
We are the ones with the power to fire her by stopping her paycheck and letting her fade into obscurity.

 
there is no way to ethically put money in JKR's pocket. image of a tweet from JKR in which someone asks "how do you sleep at night knowing you've lost a whole audience from buying your books" and her reply, "I read my most recent royalty cheques and
 

There is NO WAY to ethically put money in JKR’s pocket.

All participation in/engagement with official works associated with an IP that she owns signals demand for those products/offerings, which in turn signals that continued partnership with JKR is a sound business move. Even if an offering is “free,” you are still contributing to ongoing partnerships.

She makes money from the following sources:

•Universal Studios: she receives a licensing fee every 10 years, as well as food, beverage, and merchandise sales from the Wizarding World attraction. The decision to renew the WW contract is determined by public demand—attending the WW part of the park signals demand, whether you buy anything or not.

•If the planned HBO series goes forward, she will profit massively. Do not watch the series.

•Book sales for any book she has written, as well as the illustrated Harry Potter, official HP coloring books, Cursed Child screenplay, and any other official branded materials.

•Books published under her pseudonym, Robert Galbraith (the Cormorant Strike series)

•Movie sales, rentals, and theatre tickets for Harry Potter or Fantastic Beasts.

•Official merchandise sales, including LEGO.

•Ticket sales for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.

•All Harry Potter video games, including Hogwarts Legacy.

•WB Studios tour.

•Streaming services: most streaming services license an IP for a period of time, so creators don’t earn money per view. However, our views determine what they decide to license, so streaming Harry Potter, Fantastic Beasts, and Return to Hogwarts still contributes to her income.

•Anything else officially associated with an Intellectual Property that she owns.

What are our goals?

• To make the message clear that transphobia is bad for business

• HBO to cancel the TV series

• Universal Studios theme park to end their contract with JKR

• WB to drop the HP and Fantastic Beasts franchises

• All publishers to drop JKR, both her new books and reprints of HP

•Streaming services to to stop licensing HP/FB movies

•Brands to stop partnering with JKR

Answers to FAQ:

•Universal Studios’ decision to renew their contract for the Wizarding World is decided by popularity. This means that going on the rides, even if you don’t buy anything, financially benefits her.

•Watching movies/reading books/listening to audiobooks that you already own does not benefit her.

•You don’t have to cancel your HBO subscription, just don’t watch the show.

•no, “offsetting” financially supporting her by making donations is not participating in a boycott—she doesn’t get your money with a note saying you made a donation. We live under capitalism and money is the loudest language we have.

•the “what about [game devs/actors/theme park employees], don’t they deserve money?” question is honestly so deeply transphobic it doesn’t deserve acknowledgement. The full question being asked is “what about [insert job here], don’t they deserve money at the expense of trans people’s safety and wellbeing?”

•Wondering about that whole “doxxing” incident? Here’s everything you need to know.

Firing vs Canceling: what’s the difference?

“Cancel” is an amorphous, confusing term that we used in the beginning of this whole thing as a sort of snarky clickbait, but it’s not really what our objective is here. As far as we can tell, to “cancel” someone is to notice bad behavior, call someone out publicly, not allow them room to grow, learn, or change, and then to write them off forever, regardless of present or future actions. 

We are absolutely NOT cancelling JKR. 

We are firing her, because she has repeatedly been given performance reviews, offers of help, and access to tools to learn and grow and she has decided to continue to do harm. 

A brief history of JKR’s transphobia

In December 2019, J.K. Rowling went to Twitter to share her support of Maya Forstater, a woman whose employer chose not to renew her contract because of her outspoken transphobic views.

In June of 2020, she again went to Twitter to mock the phrase “people who menstruate.”

In response to the pushback she received about these attitudes, she published an essay about her transphobia. Many wonderful trans folks have spoken beautifully about the issues with this essay.

After that, her transphobia became a constant thing, with larger moments being used as a publicity stunt every time she has a new project coming out. Particularly noteworthy examples include both December 2021 and October 2022, when she publicly opposed trans-rights legislation that was being considered in Scotland.

In 2025 she started an anti-trans organization, using her wealth to actively fight against the rights of trans people.

Here is an extremely comprehensive overview of her transphobia.

It is also worth noting that a US senator quoted JKR while blocking an LGBTQ civil rights bill.

When we say that she is a threat to the safety of trans people, we mean it literally.

Is there really any point to any of this?

•Sometimes folks suggest that there’s no point to boycotting because JKR will never change. However, the point is not to change her—this is absolutely not for her. The point is to show the companies that profit off of her that partnering with transphobes is not a good idea. No amount of talking about her bad behavior will impact WB’s decision to produce more JKR-related content, but declining sales absolutely will. (There is also potential that declining sales and dropped contracts will encourage her to stop being so vocally and publicly awful, which would be great.)

•”There’s no ethical consumption under capitalism” is not an excuse to do whatever you want, consequences be damned. It is, without a doubt, more ethical to spend your money somewhere else. As Chuck Tingle said, “you can [buy Hogwarts Legacy], but other buds can also then point out you are not being their ally. The real price of your game is $70 plus the respect of your buds. That’s your call to carry.”

Digging into JKR’s essay:

Addressing The Claims In JK Rowling’s Justification For Transphobia, by Katy Montgomerie for Medium

JK Rowling’s ‘TERF Wars’ YouTube video by Jammidodger

A Letter to J.K. Rowling From A Young Transgender Person Who’s Sick of Her Shit, by Hayden Moon for Junkee

J.K. Rowling Triples Down on Transphobia, by Claire Lampen for The Cut