JK Rowling Twitter row: support for author over poll abuse
Twitter users rally to show their support for JK Rowling after she became a target for online abuse in the wake of the election results.
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The Harry Potter author, who has previously donated money to Labour, received abuse after the party suffered a heavy defeat at the polls, ending in a virtual wipeout of its MPs in Scotland.
The writer was branded, among other things, a “traitor to Scotland” and “Blairite scum”. Their comments, she wrote, “reminds me how big the world is and how many more decent people there are than not”.
The award-winning author had previously written:
@UFOria_ on Twitter, very much taking the view that the abusive ones are not typical. This week, though, my personal line has been crossed
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) May 9, 2015
@UFOria_ the image of any political party. It isn’t always fun being a famous woman on Twitter and I believe in standing up to bullies.
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) May 9, 2015
But Rowling has since received numerous tweets from well-wishers offering her their support.
They wrote:
@jk_rowling Just know that for every person that insults or attacks you, there is someone out there who stands with you! #HopeOverFear
— Thomas Morris (@Tom_on_his_bike) May 9, 2015
(1/2) @jk_rowling I love you and support you all the way!
— Alex Chavez (@Alex_J_Chavez) May 9, 2015
The author has also retweeted a number of photographs from fans all around the world, inviting her to visit their country.
Rowling revealed yesterday that she had been “invited to relocate to France, Ireland and Brazil!” and joked: “I’ve got to be honest, if I’m leaving Scotland, the climate is something I probably wouldn’t want to replicate first!”
The Casual Vacancy author has received online abuse before. She suffered a flood of criticism on Twitter last year after it emerged she had donated £1 million to the campaign for a No vote in the Scottish independence referendum.