Despite all the power her cultural influence and financial lobbying buy her, it’s comforting to know that J.K. Rowling is powerless to social media. Even $1 billion and the complete and total financial freedom to do whatever she wants with her life isn’t enough to deter Rowling’s chronic posting habit. Like the rest of us, she has probably found herself closing an app, only to have the mortifying reflex to open the very same app one second later. Her high screen time percentage is the great equalizer, making her as much of a cartoon super villain as she is a dangerous and out-of-touch fearmonger. 

This past week, Rowling gleefully put both these facets of her personality on full display. On Wednesday, the U.K. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the definition of a “woman” in the eyes of U.K. law, according to the 2010 Equality Act, does not include transgender women. The ruling states that sex is binary, and that a “woman” is someone whose biological sex aligns with that definition. The decision was made after a long push from For Women Scotland, an anti-trans group that boasts Rowling as one of its most famous financial backers. 

Rowling is playing edgelord from the comfort of a life so far removed from reality that the truth is just a speck in the distance. After years spent tarnishing her brand with rampant trans-exclusionary takes, she’s assured that her writing won’t define her legacy; her flagrant cowardice will.

After the ruling, Rowling sprinted to social media as fast as her thumbs could fiddle. Gloating, she poured herself a drink and lit up a cigar. “I love it when a plan comes together,” she posted on X, alongside a photo of herself taking a drag. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court’s decision resulted in a throng of protests in London’s Parliament Square, fearing that the ruling could have a cataclysmic ripple effect on trans rights throughout the U.K. and embolden those like Rowling who seek to have those rights vanquished. While an entire subsection of the U.K. population worried about their equal rights being stripped away by antiquated thinking and baseless conspiracy theories, Rowling sat back with a smirk. She may as well have been pictured like Dr. Evil, stroking a white Persian cat, announcing her plot for world domination.

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But no matter how much money you have, you can’t dominate the world if you’re not out in it. In her photo, Rowling is notably posted up on a yacht or some beach resort, enjoying the spoils of her wealth and a strong 5G signal from her cellular provider. She’s not joining the cheering members of For Women Scotland and the other anti-trans voices in person, she’s playing edgelord from the comfort of a life so far removed from reality that the truth is just a speck in the distance. After years spent tarnishing her brand with rampant trans-exclusionary takes, Rowling has assured that her writing won’t define her legacy; her flagrant cowardice will.

Despite what she might say, Rowling isn’t for anyone, especially not women, whom she claims to champion; she’s for herself. The author of a beloved book series about coming together to fight the rise of fascism has written herself into the story as a real-life villain. No matter how much fans try to separate the art from the artist, Rowling and “Harry Potter” are inextricably linked forever. And with the “Hogwarts Legacy” video game and Max’s upcoming “Harry Potter” series trying to breathe new life into the franchise, it’s........

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