Stephen King divides fans as he praises J.K. Rowling book

26 October, 2023

Stephen King JK Rowling

Stephen King has faced some criticism after promoting one of J.K. Rowling’s books.

On Thursday (October 26), the author praised The Running Grave by Rowling, written under her crime fiction pseudonym Robert Galbraith.

“This is J.K. Rowling at her best, recalling the sheer readability of the Harry Potter books, but much darker,” King wrote on X. “This got me through a difficult time.”

Despite King tweeting his opposition to Rowling’s controversial transgender comments in the past, specifically in 2021, some have expressed disappointment over his decision to promote her work.

“Man, sucks to see you supporting someone like her,” one tweet read in response.

Another wrote: “I’m happy you enjoyed the book, but I wish you would reconsider promoting an author who is harmful to marginalised communities in future.”

Some, however, have simply taken the recommendation at face value. “It’s such a brilliant book,” another user wrote. “I’ve enjoyed all the Strike books but The Running Grave, particularly the chapters where Robin was in the cult, was so, so good.”

Speaking to The Daily Beast in 2021, King explained that he had been blocked by Rowling on X (then known as Twitter) after disagreeing with her stance on trans women.

“Jo cancelled me,” King told the outlet. “She sorta blocked me and all that. Here’s the thing: She is welcome to her opinion. That’s the way the world works. If she thinks that trans women are dangerous, or that trans women are somehow not women, or whatever problem she has with it – the idea that someone ‘masquerading’ as a woman is going to assault a ‘real’ woman in the toilet – if she believes all those things, she has a right to her opinion.

“And then someone tweeted at me, ‘Do you think trans women are women?’ and I said, ‘Yes, I do.’ And that’s what she got angry about – my opinion. It’s like the old saying, ‘I don’t agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.’

“So nobody has ‘canceled’ J.K. Rowling. She’s doing fine. I just felt her belief was, in my opinion, wrong. We have differing opinions, but that’s life.”

Recently, Rowling said she would “happily” serve time in prison rather than refer to transgender women as “women”.

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