“The Matrix” director Lilly Wachowski issued blunt comments about J.K. Rowling in a new interview, accusing the “Harry Potter” writer of funding transgender genocide. Now, the prolific author has responded via a statement from a representative, highlighting the right to free speech.
Following Wachowski accusing Rowling of “funding trans genocide” and lumping her in with Nazis, her agent, Neil Blair, issued a response to the filmmaker via Entertainment Weekly. Blair began, “Freedom of speech is a principle we should all cherish.”
The statement continued, “What matters is that J.K. Rowling’s views, as with anyone else’s, are represented accurately, fairly and respectfully and that individual opinion does not detract from those views.”
In addressing the “Matrix” director directly, the agent noted, “To correct Lilly Wachowski, through The J.K. Rowling Women’s Fund, J.K Rowling supports women taking legal action in the UK to preserve their existing rights under the Equality Act 2010, which are often overlooked or threatened.”
The statement debunked the “trans genocide” claim by highlighting, “She does not support legal actions aimed at harming transgender people or efforts to limit trans rights.”
Rowling’s agent then defended the “Harry Potter” author, saying, “People are free to disagree with her views, but seriously defamatory allegations of this nature, even outrageously invoking the Nazi’s and the genocide that they committed, should never be presented as fact when they are clearly fabricated and not based on any evidence.”
Lilly Wachowski Initially Called Out Both J.K. Rowling And Elon Musk
Wachowski is currently promoting her upcoming political thriller “The Hunted.” She recently spoke to Variety, with the reporter mentioning not only Rowling but also Elon Musk, noting “cultural damage” to the trans community from both figures.
Regarding her thoughts on them, Wachowski said, “I mean… these people are Nazis. They’re literal Nazis. There is a one-to-one connection between Elon Musk and the Nazi community.” After that, the reporter mentioned the upcoming “Harry Potter” HBO series and the various opinions surrounding it because of Rowling’s views on trans people.
Wachowski stated, “She is funding trans genocide. J.K. Rowling funds trans genocide, full stop. So, if you support “Harry Potter,” you’re supporting trans genocide.”
The filmmaker continued, “The money that goes into you enjoying these products, a portion of that money goes to J.K. Rowling, and that money goes into her funding anti-trans legislation all over the world.”
After that, she expounded, saying, “In the same way that if you are against Elon Musk, you boycott or don’t buy Tesla; and if you’re against global warming/climate change, you try not to buy as much gas, you try to mitigate your use of these products. It’s simple math.”
She added, “So, your enjoyment of these shows, and continued support of these shows, is supporting my eradication.”
J.K. Rowling Has Been Vocal About Her Thoughts On Trans People Since 2018
Rowling first drew backlash in 2018 when, according to The Week, she liked a post on social media where transgender women were referred to as “men in dresses.” After that, in 2019, she publicly supported Maya Forstater, a researcher who lost her position over anti trans comments.
Since then, the author has been vocal about her beliefs on social media and in interviews. In 2023, she spoke out on her “The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling” podcast, revealing that she wasn’t surprised by the backlash she’d received up until that point for her beliefs.
She said, “I could see that they believed they were living the values that I had espoused in those books. I could tell that they believed they were fighting for underdogs and difference and fairness.”
Rowling then discussed feeling concerned for her safety. She then said, “Time will tell whether I’ve got this wrong. I can only say that I’ve thought about it deeply and hard and long, and I’ve listened, I promise, to the other side. And I believe absolutely that there is something dangerous about this movement, and it must be challenged.”
The Author Said She’s Embodying The Principles Of ‘Harry Potter’
Rowling continued her podcast comments by saying that she’d been caught off guard by being called out by left-leaning fans instead of more conservative people, saying, “I would assume we share certain values,” and that the criticism “hit differently” than if it had come from republicans.
After that, Rowling responded to claims that she had “betrayed [her] own books.” She said, “My position is that I am absolutely upholding the positions that I took in ‘Potter.’ My position is that this activist movement, in the form that it’s currently taking, echoes the very thing that I was warning against in ‘Harry Potter.’”
She Has A New Book Coming Out
Rowling’s literary career remains active as she has a new book coming out under her pseudonym, Robert Galbraith, “Sleep Tight, Evangeline.” Per the offical website, Rowling announced the novel in February 2026 but has yet to reveal the release date.
Notably, the upcoming book will be her 9th in the popular Cormoran Strike detective series.
