JK Rowling slammed for asking if she can be Black if she likes “Motown & fancy myself in cornrows”

British author J.K. Rowling continued to battle with progressives on social media, asking those who oppose her transphobia whether she could call herself Black if she got into Motown music and wore her hair in cornrows.

Rowling, who has devoted most of her social media presence this past year to attacking transgender rights, wrote a post on X this past weekend calling a trans woman soccer manager a “middle-aged bloke.” The trans woman never even interacted with Rowling and did nothing to provoke her response and the ensuing harassment she received from Rowling’s millions of followers.

Related: Transphobe Elon Musk tells J.K. Rowling to tone down her transphobia

Rowling appeared offended by the suggestion that she is obsessed with hating trans people.

Rowling responded to her critics, saying that she was not “punching down” and called the trans woman a “crossdressing straight man.”

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“Women are under no obligation to applaud the people caricaturing us,” she wrote. Trans men and women do not caricature cis men and women; they are men and women, respectively.

Jonathan Chait of New York magazine responded to Rowling by telling her it’s “basic decency” to “call people what they want to be called.”

“Stop telling women what they’re allowed to say, Jonathan. It’s basic decency,” Rowling responded.

Another X user named Landon Best told Rowling that she is the one telling trans women “that they’re not allowed to call themselves women, even though they are,” and then threw Rowling’s argument back at her.

That’s when Rowling decided to compare being trans to blackface – an argument common to white anti-trans activists – and brought in some stereotypes of what it means to be Black.

“Does this apply to any other demographic, Landon?” Rowling asked. “Do I get to be black if I like Motown and fancy myself in cornrows? What if I claim the authentic me has always been black and that you’re being racist to me? Would that be OK, or would you find it ludicrous and deeply offensive?”

Calling a man a man is not 'bullying' or 'punching down.' Crossdressing straight men are currently one of the most pandered-to demographics in existence, and women are under no obligation to applaud the people caricaturing us.

— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) May 12, 2024

Stop telling women what they're allowed to say, Jonathan. It's basic decency.

— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) May 12, 2024

Does this apply to any other demographic, Landon? Do I get to be black if I like Motown and fancy myself in cornrows? What if I claim the authentic me has always been black and that you're being racist to me? Would that be OK, or would you find it ludicrous and deeply offensive?

— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) May 12, 2024

People on X responded to Rowling with disapproval.

With all due disrespect, KEEP THE BLACK COMMUNITY OUT OF YOUR MOUTH! We have real problems without culture vultures using racist tropes to justify their bigotry of other groups. Find another analogy that doesn't involve punching down on Black people.

— Sasha Sinclair