Drag queen and actress Jinkx Monsoon had things to say about Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, who has made several remarks against transgender people, specifically trans women, in past years and has consequently been accused of transphobia and trans-exclusionary feminism.
In an interview with comedian Ziwe, Jinkx, who identifies as non-binary and trans-feminine, pointed out the irony of Rowling using masculine pen names.
When asked if Rowling would make a good Roxie Hart in the musical Chicago, the 2023 production of which Jinkx was a part of, the drag queen jokingly said, “Who is this Jake? Who is he? Jake Hay Rowling.” Ziwe clarified that “He is a she.” The RuPaul’s Drag Race star then remarked that Rowling’s name was “not feminine in the slightest.”
“I know that oftentimes, female authors use initials so that people assume it’s a male writer,” Jinkx continued. “So I have to presume that J.K. Rowling was unsatisfied with the way that the world saw her, and then she transitioned herself into a new personality, so that the world would perceive her the way she wanted to be perceived.”
Rowling, whose real name is Joanne, also uses the pseudonym “Robert Galbraith” for her ongoing crime fiction series, Cormoran Strike.
“I certainly wanted to take my writing persona as far away as possible from me, so a male pseudonym seemed a good idea,” Rowling explained on Galbraith’s website.
Rowling said the same of her “J.K.” pen name in a CNN interview in 2017. “I actually quite like having a pen name, because I feel that’s — to an extent, that feels like an identity and then I’m — in [my] private life, I’m Jo Murray. And it feels like quite a nice separation.” She also claimed that the publishers asked her to use her initials to “disguise” her gender.
Rowling’s Transphobic Trail
In 2018, Rowling was caught liking a tweet that referred to trans women as “men in dresses,” but a representative told Pink News that it was an accident.
However, since then, Rowling has only doubled down on the transphobia. In 2020, she claimed that the youth were being forced into gender-affirming care for their mental health, saying, “Many health professionals are concerned that young people struggling with their mental health are being shunted towards hormones and surgery when this may not be in their best interests.”
That same year, she published an essay stating she was worried about “the new trans activism,” as it is “pushing to erode the legal definition of sex and replace it with gender.”
In February 2025, the Telegraph reported that Rowling had donated £70,000 to the women’s group For Women Scotland in their campaign to outlaw trans women in the UK. In April, the U.K. Supreme Court ruled that trans women cannot be considered women, which Rowling celebrated with a photo of herself, captioned “I love it when a plan comes together.”
I love it when a plan comes together.#SupremeCourt #WomensRights pic.twitter.com/agOkWmhPgb
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) April 16, 2025
In contrast, Jinkx has been vocal about trans rights and visibility. “I say, ‘Who gives a fuck what transphobes think?’” she said in a 2024 Attitude interview following her stint as the villain Maestro in Doctor Who. “What we’re fighting for when we fight for representation, we’re fighting to keep all that because it wasn’t always here, and there are people who desperately want to take it away from us. I don’t believe they will.”
In 2023, she spoke out against a U.S. bill that sought to limit drag performances. “I wish that people who call themselves allies to suppressed, oppressed, and marginalized communities got involved when the situation didn’t affect them,” she told CBC. “Right now, it feels like people wait until it’s their rights on the line to really speak up. And the thing is, their rights will be on the line — it’s not going to stop with drag queens.”
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