Sunday, Judy Blume, the author of Are you there God? It’s me, Margaret, took to Twitter to show her support for the trans community, hours after an article in The Sunday Times of London published an interview characterizing Blume as an ally of JK Rowling, the Harry Potter author under fire for her views on transgender people .
“I fully support the trans community,” Blume said. “My point, taken out of context, is that I can empathize with a writer – or person – who has been harassed online. I support the trans community and strongly disagree with anyone who does not fully support equality and acceptance for LGBTQIA+ people. Anything to the contrary is total nonsense.”
In the interview with The Sunday Times, written by Hadley Freeman, Blume said, “I’m behind her 100 per cent as I watch from a distance.” Freeman wrote that this quote “referred to the abuse Rowling has received for speaking out in defense of women’s sex-based rights.”
On Sunday, Blume’s comments circulated widely across social media, leading some Twitter users to question their support for the beloved author. In the statement posted to Twitter, Blume said her quote was “taken out of context,” and then shared a screenshot of her interview with Variety in which she opposed book bans and quotes Maia Kobabe’s memoirs Genderqueer as “wonderfully enlightening.”
This all happened just days after Max (née HBO Max) announced a new Harry Potter TV series, with Rowling as executive producer, who will re-adapt the original seven books. In a press release, Rowling said, “Max’s dedication to preserving the integrity of my books is important to me.”
This news also caused backlash on the internet, as fans questioned the need for another series based on the franchise, in light of Rowling’s numerous statements against transgender people three years ago.