India Willoughby filed a police complaint against J.K. Rowling on Monday, claiming the British writer continually misgendered her on social media. The former “Celebrity Big Brother” contestant called Rowling’s alleged refusal to use her preferred pronouns “insulting” and “dehumanizing” in a recent interview.
“At the end of the day, it is a hate crime,” Willoughby said in an interview with Byline TV Wednesday. “Trans gender identity is a protected characteristic, just as race is, just as sexuality is.”
The trans woman, TV broadcaster, and former co-host on “Loose Women” seems to be referencing a post on X, formerly Twitter, in which Rowling appears to refer to Willoughby using the pronoun “he.”
After Willoughby said that she reported Rowling to the police, Rowling wrote on X Wednesday that lawyers advised her that she has a “clearly winnable case” against Willoughby for defamation.
Rowling added: “Aware as I am that it’s an offence to lie to law enforcement, I’ll simply have to explain to the police that, in my view, India is a classic example of the male narcissist who lives in a state of perpetual rage that he can’t compel women to take him at his own valuation.”
Rowling’s reps told HuffPost that she is not commenting further.
The “Harry Potter” author has been under fire in recent years for insisting trans women are men. In October, Rowling said she would “happily” go to jail if it meant being able to continue misgendering people. She wrote in 2022 that she opposed Scotland’s proposed Gender Recognition Act, saying that the legislation would allow “male-bodied individuals” the right to be in women’s spaces. That same year, Rowling wrote and released a novel called “The Ink Black Heart,” which is about protagonist Edie Ledwell, who is stabbed to death for YouTube content deemed transphobic.
Willoughby said she is legally recognized as a woman and claimed to have received “vile” and “disgusting” replies from people after Rowling’s social media posts.
“Her words carry great importance,” Willoughby said about Rowling.
The Northumbria Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but they told Variety: “On Monday, March 4, we received a complaint about a post on social media. We are currently awaiting to speak to the complainant further.”
The Equality Act 2010 protects people in England, Wales and Scotland from being discriminated against because of their gender reassignment.