Broadcaster India Willoughby has claimed that she reported “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling to the police over alleged transphobia.
In an interview with Byline TV on Wednesday night, Willoughby — a former “Celebrity Big Brother” contestant and “Loose Women” co-host — claimed that she reported Rowling to Northumbria Police for repeatedly misgendering her online as part of an ongoing feud.
“J.K. Rowling has definitely committed a crime. I’m legally a woman. She knows I’m a woman, and she called me a man,” Willoughby said in the interview. “It’s a protected characteristic, and that is a breach of both the Equalities Act and the Gender Recognition Act. She’s tweeted that out to 14 million followers.”
Willoughby continued, “I have reported J.K. Rowling to the police for what she said, which I don’t know if that’s going to be treated as a hate crime, malicious communications — but it’s a cut-and-dry offense, as far as I’m concerned.”
When asked about the situation by Variety, a Northumbria Police spokesperson offered the following statement: “On Monday, March 4, we received a complaint about a post on social media. We are currently awaiting to speak to the complainant further.”
Representatives for Rowling did not immediately respond to Variety‘s request for comment.
Rowling responded to Willoughby’s revelation on X, formerly known as Twitter, by saying that she had consulted a lawyer who said “that not only did I have a clearly winnable case against India Willoughby for defamation, but that India’s obsessive targeting of me over the past few years may meet the legal threshold for harassment.”
The author continued to claim that “gender critical views can be protected in law as a philosophical belief. No law compels anyone to pretend to believe that India is a woman.”
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 has come under fire in recent years for her views surrounding the transgender community, particularly trans women, which many have perceived as anti-trans.
Her comments have been criticized by those in the “Harry Potter” world, including Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint and Eddie Redmayne. However, on a Feb. 23 earnings call, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav said that execs recently met with Rowling regarding Max’s upcoming “Harry Potter” series.
“We spent some real time with J.K. and her team,” Zaslav said on the call. “Both sides are just thrilled to be reigniting this franchise. Our conversations were great, and we couldn’t be more excited about what’s ahead. We can’t wait to share a decade of new stories with fans around the world on Max.”