Most days, it feels like the one nice thing we can count on is celebrities taking a pop at J.K. Rowling. As much as She Who Must Not Be Named thinks she has fans, she really only has beloved detractors now—from Pedro Pascal to Bowen Yang to the three children her little stories made very famous adults. While past denunciations of the prolific transphobe have trended toward the ultra-serious or expletive-laden, Jinkx Monsoon just pioneered a new strategy in speaking about Rowling.
On Thursday, Ziwe Fumudoh shared a clip from her recent interview with Monsoon in which she asks whether Rowling might make a good Roxie Hart. Monsoon, who’s set to replace Cole Escola in Oh,Mary!, broke records while starring in Chicago in 2023, and garnered critical acclaim for her roles in Little Shop of Horrors and Pirates! The Penzance Musical. That said, the Drag Race winner is an expert in memorable performances.
“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.” As if it couldn’t get any better, Monsoon followed it up with a maniacal cackle. What’s that sound? Several darts hitting a bullseye at once? All ten pins being knocked down? A buzzer going off? Or is it just Rowling jumping off her $150 million yacht?
Ziwe, typically never short of a witty retort, could only muster a “gagging” in approval. I have to suspect Rowling herself was also gagging. Good.
In April, Rowling posted a photo of herself delighting in the U.K. Supreme Court’s April 16 ruling that transgender women shouldn’t be recognized as women under Britain’s Equality Act. Delighting might be an understatement, actually. Not only did she appear to be on vacation, but she was toasting the camera to the fact that transgender women in the U.K. cannot legally be recognized as women. Apart from attending the Royal Ascot in June, she’s kept a low profile ever since.
While I welcome all kinds of public aversion to Rowling, I think all other celebrities should take a page from Monsoon’s playbook if and when they’re asked about that TERF (or all others, for that matter).
