JK Rowling is facing backlash from LGBTI fans after refusing to say Harry Potter’s Sirius Black is gay.
The author has made a habit of confirming or refuting fan theories on Twitter, giving Potterheads a further insight into her magical world.
It came after the writer responded directly to fan questions from a young Twitter user who wanted to know a variety of questions.
@jk_rowling 4) “Will Robin actually marry Matthew?”
5. “Is Sirius Black gay?”
6. “Are you sure he’s not gay?”
7. “Are you REALLY sure?”2/2
— Ardit Haliti (@ardit_haliti) September 6, 2016
So instead of using her tweets, she just changed her Twitter bio to a FAQ.
‘No, he isn’t,’ she said in response to the fan’s fifth question, asking whether Harry’s godfather is gay. ‘Yes, I’m sure.’
This left Twitter, Tumblr and other Harry Potter fans on social media crushed. Despite you would assume the author has a decent idea of the personal lives of her own characters, this led to #JKRowlingIsOverParty hashtag trending.
jk rowling says she supports lgbt which is great but would it kill her to make a character lgbt and actually acknowledge that in her books
— elisa⚡️ (@kingwallywest) August 31, 2016
#JKRowlingIsOverParty the Queen of queerbaiting and heteronormativity 😫💯👌🏻
— yona✩ (@moonyamelie) September 6, 2016
YALL DONT WORRY I FIXED HIS HARRYPOTTERWIKI PAGE YOURE WELCOME 👌👅👊💦💯 #SiriusBlackIsGay #JKRowlingIsOverParty pic.twitter.com/vWSdET3xqY
— anya (@wolfstargazing) September 6, 2016
i think it’s time to bring back this post i made ages ago #JKRowlingIsOverParty pic.twitter.com/TB0HhedjQX
— emma popcorn (@cinemmastyle) September 6, 2016
And then there was the inevitable backlash to the backlash.
So #JKRowlingIsOverParty bc a FICTIONAL character isn’t gay? pic.twitter.com/DvrEKGlwgY
— Gucci (@hesology) September 6, 2016
When Muggles act like they know Sirius better than JKR does… #JKRowlingIsOverParty pic.twitter.com/elpKI2duXX
— Harry Potter Secrets (@thehpsecrets) September 6, 2016
A character not being gay isn’t an attack toward the LGBTQ+ community! Get your heads out of your asses and move on. #JKRowlingIsOverParty
— Sarah (@aliiiiveeee) September 6, 2016
A lot of the fans anger comes from that while Dumbledore was revealed as gay after the books were released, there were no clear instances of LGBTI representation. And then when Rowling had the chance to rectify this, in the new play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, she didn’t.
But Potter fans have appeared to have forgotten she has consistently backed LGBTI rights, and made Dumbledore gay when LGBTI representation was not popular in mainstream culture.
#ThrowbackThursday @jk_rowling‘s perfect response to a fan´s question about Dumbledore being gay. #LGBT #HarryPotter pic.twitter.com/hBy7b0OaPW
— One Love, All Equal (@OneLoveAllEqual) May 21, 2015
Rowling changed her Twitter bio again after the backlash.
