J.K. Rowling Returns Award from Kennedy Family After Being Criticized by Kerry Kennedy

J.K. Rowling is returning an award that she received from the Kennedy family last year after she was criticized by Kerry Kennedy.

The “Harry Potter” author received the Ripple of Hope Award from the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights organization in December 2019. Kerry, who is the daughter of the late RFK, is the president of the organization.

Earlier this month, Kerry released a statement to say she had spoken with Rowling about the recent comments she made, which were widely viewed as transphobic.

“Over the course of June 2020 — LGBTQ Pride Month — and much to my dismay, J.K. Rowling posted deeply troubling transphobic tweets and statements,” Kennedy wrote in her statement.

She says she talked with Rowling “to express my profound disappointment that she has chosen to use her remarkable gifts to create a narrative that diminishes the identity of trans and nonbinary people, undermining the validity and integrity of the entire transgender community — one that disproportionately suffers from violence, discrimination, harassment, and exclusion and, as a result, experiences high rates of suicide, suicide attempts, homelessness, and mental and bodily harm. Black trans women and trans youth in particular are targeted.”

Click inside to see the statement that J.K. Rowling released…

JK Rowling responded on Thursday (August 27) with a statement on her website.

“Kerry Kennedy, President of Robert F Kennedy Human Rights, recently felt it necessary to publish a statement denouncing my views on RFKHR’s website. The statement incorrectly implied that I was transphobic, and that I am responsible for harm to trans people. As a longstanding donor to LGBT charities and a supporter of trans people’s right to live free of persecution, I absolutely refute the accusation that I hate trans people or wish them ill, or that standing up for the rights of women is wrong, discriminatory, or incites harm or violence to the trans community,” Rowling said.

She later continued in the statement, “In solidarity with those who have contacted me but who are struggling to make their voices heard, and because of the very serious conflict of views between myself and RFKHR, I feel I have no option but to return the Ripple of Hope Award bestowed upon me last year. I am deeply saddened that RFKHR has felt compelled to adopt this stance, but no award or honour, no matter my admiration for the person for whom it was named, means so much to me that I would forfeit the right to follow the dictates of my own conscience.”

See what Emma Watson had to say about those tweets that Rowling wrote.