JK Rowling, 59, savages ‘coward’ Keir Starmer in blistering verdict of PM following landmark woman definition ruling
JK Rowling has issued a devastating broadside against Prime Minister Keir Starmer after the UK Supreme Court ruled on the definition of “woman”.
The 59-year-old Harry Potter author has long been outspoken on gender critical politics and challenged the PM over his response to the historic decision.
The Supreme Court ruled last week that in the 2010 Equality Act, the definition of “women” relates only to biological women.
Justices in London determined that trans women with a gender recognition certificate can be excluded from single-sex spaces if “proportionate”.
Campaign group For Women Scotland, which Rowling is thought to have helped fund, brought the issue to the court.
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Reacting to the ruling, the PM was asked to clarify his position on trans women.
“Look, I believe the Supreme Court has answered that question. A woman is an adult female and court has made that absolutely clear,” he told ITV news.
“I actually welcomed the judgement because it gives real clarity, it allows that have draw up guidance to be really clear about what that guidance should say.
“I think it’s important that we see the judgement for what it is. It’s a welcome step forward, it gives real clarity in an area where we did need clarity. I’m pleased it’s come about. We need to move and ensure all guidance is in the right place regarding that judgement,” Starmer added.
Imagine being such a coward you can only muster the courage to tell the truth once the Supreme Court has ruled on what the truth is. https://t.co/FyixwulF7c
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) April 22, 2025
When asked about his message to the trans community, the PM said: “It is important that we have clarity about the law. Obviously that’s an important and welcome step so we go forward from there.”
Rowling was unimpressed with Starmer’s comments and issued a brutal barb on social media.
“Imagine being such a coward you can only muster the courage to tell the truth once the Supreme Court has ruled on what the truth is,” she wrote on X.
The author was referencing the stance previously taken by Starmer which appeared to err on the side that trans women were indeed women.
Speaking to Time Times in 2022, before becoming PM, Starmer said: “A woman is a female adult, and in addition to that trans women are women, and that is not just my view, that is actually the law”.
In later non-committal statement, he suggested that 99.9 per cent of women “haven’t got a penis”.
Women have fought (and are still fighting) the single biggest land grab on their rights in my lifetime. Some have sacrificed their livelihoods and safety to combat a pernicious ideology that has infiltrated elite institutions, including government.
Women have been persecuted,… pic.twitter.com/GHWpjTr9AP
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) April 22, 2025
Soon after her response to the PM, Rowling posted a length address to her 14.3 million followers calling out the British political class for apparent flip flopping on the trans issue.
“Women have fought (and are still fighting) the single biggest land grab on their rights in my lifetime. Some have sacrificed their livelihoods and safety to combat a pernicious ideology that has infiltrated elite institutions, including government,” she began.
“Women have been persecuted, harassed, smeared, roughed up and forced to take employers to court for discrimination.
“They’ve suffered severe detriments purely for believing what the Supreme Court has ruled to be reasonable and correct: that women are a definable biological class that has specific rights under the law to which males, however they identify, are not entitled.
“Do these politicians have any shame? They sided with the persecutors, the issuers of death and rape threats, the violent men demanding access to women’s and girls’ protected spaces, including domestic abuse shelters, rape crisis centres and prison cells.
“Will any of them issue an apology or admit that they made a serious error in siding with well-funded activist groups lying about what the law actually said, and which had measurable, severe impact on some of society’s most vulnerable women?
“As another public wave of death threats is issued against women because of the Supreme Court ruling, their silence has become deafening.
“I’m just one of millions of women disgusted by the lack of accountability or remorse. We will not forget,” she concluded.
Accompanying the posts, Rowling shared images of Labour lawmakers under the banner “Labour winning women’s votes” with quotes attributed to the purporting to demonstrate hypocritical stances on the trans debate.