India Willoughby, Britain’s first transgender broadcaster who has appeared on Celebrity Big Brother, previously filed a police report against author J.K. Rowling for the crime of “misgendering.”
Willoughby, a man living as a woman, said in an interview with UK’s Byline TV he had a “cut and dry” complaint against Rowling because she allegedly “misgendered” him. Per Deadline:
Willoughby underwent gender reassignment surgery in 2015 and was credited with being the first transgender TV news reporter in the UK, working for ITV Tyne Tees regional news.
In recent days, Rowling has repeatedly declined to use Willoughby’s preferred pronouns and has openly mocked the broadcaster in posts on Twitter, now X.
Willoughby said that Rowling’s actions proved the “mask is off.”
“The mask is off. People historically have given her the benefit of the doubt, hearing that all she is doing is defending women’s rights,” Willoughby said. “She can’t argue that anymore now that she’s actually come out and broadly said to me that India Willoughby is a man.”
File/India Willoughby speaks after winning the media moment of the year award at the Diversity in Media Awards on September 15, 2017 in London, England. (Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images)
The U.K.’s Crown Prosecution Service has labeled hostility to transgenders a “hate crime.” That, however, does not include “misgendering” someone.
Rowling has argued that Willoughby’s actions constitute “harassment.”
“Some time ago, lawyers advised me that not only did I have a clearly winnable case against India Willoughby for defamation, but that India’s obsessive targeting of me over the past few years may meet the legal threshold for harassment,” she said in a post on X.
“I ignored this advice because I couldn’t be bothered giving India the publicity he so clearly craves,” Rowling added. “Aware as I am that it’s an offence to lie to law enforcement, I’ll simply have to explain to the police that, in my view, India is a classic example of the male narcissist who lives in a state of perpetual rage that he can’t compel women to take him at his own valuation.”
I ignored this advice because I couldn't be bothered giving India the publicity he so clearly craves. Nevertheless, we must all do our bit to combat hate, so India will be glad to know I've taken note of his homophobia, racism, and humane stance on immigration. 2/5 pic.twitter.com/ULoYrRGfez
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) March 6, 2024
Surprisingly for such an eminent legal authority, he appears to have forgotten that the Forstater ruling established that gender critical views can be protected in law as a philosophical belief. No law compels anyone to pretend to believe that India is a woman. 4/5
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) March 6, 2024
Paul Roland Bois directed the award-winning feature film, EXEMPLUM, which can be viewed for FREE on YouTube or Tubi. “Better than Killers of the Flower Moon,” wrote Mark Judge. “You haven’t seen a story like this before,” wrote Christian Toto. A high-quality, ad-free stream can also be purchased on Google Play or Vimeo on Demand. Follow him on Twitter @prolandfilms or Instagram @prolandfilms.
