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JK Rowling pushes back on John Oliver's claim there's 'no evidence' trans athletes threaten girls
By Lindsay Kornick
Published November 18, 2024
J.K. Rowling tore apart HBO’s John Oliver over his recent monologue about transgender athletes.
The "Harry Potter" author responded to the "Last Week Tonight" host’s recent tirade against those opposing trans inclusion in women’s sports. During his remarks, he claimed there was no evidence biological male trans athletes have an advantage over biological females.
"The Harris campaign failed to formulate a response, especially when it's pretty easy to do," Oliver said Friday. "There are vanishingly few trans girls competing in high schools anywhere, even if there were more, trans kids like all kids vary in terms of athletic ability, and there is no evidence they pose any threat to safety or fairness."
Rowling described the rant as an example of "motivated reasoning and confirmation bias."
JK ROWLING CALLS OUT CRITIC ACCUSING HER OF BEING FAR RIGHT: ‘YOU CAN KEEP TELLING YOURSELF THIS’
J. K. Rowling took aim at a recent viral monologue by HBO host John Oliver. (Andrew Milligan/PA Images via Getty Images)
"Nothing about this feels good, because John Oliver generously gave his time for my charity Lumos and I liked him very much when I met him, but God knows, if you ever need an example of motivated reasoning and confirmation bias, this video's for you. An undoubtedly intelligent person spouts absolute bulls--- to support something he wants to be true, but isn't," Rowling wrote on social media Sunday.
She cited a United Nations report from last month that more than 600 biological females did not medal in more than 400 competitions in 29 different sports due to trans inclusion, totaling over 890 medals.
Rowling also referenced university student Payton McNabb, who suffered a concussion after getting spiked by a trans player during a high school volleyball game.
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Rowling has frequently spoken out in defense of women-only spaces. (Getty Images)
"Again and again I've come up against men who argue exactly what Oliver does here, using the very same talking points. With a straight face, the 'believe the science' guys will say 'actually, we don't yet have enough data to say whether men and boys are stronger and faster than women and girls'. The 'be kind' crew can't see what the issue is. 'Why are you bothered, it only affects a tiny minority of females?'" she wrote.
She lambasted Oliver as one of the elites who to "prove to their progressive credentials" will "stare unabashedly into a camera and insist that their audiences' eyeballs are incapable of seeing what's plain as day."
"If you want to tell the world you're happy to watch females suffer injury, humiliation and the loss of sporting opportunities to bolster an elitist post-modern ideology embraced by a minute fraction of the world's population, fair enough; you're allowed your opinion. But if you've just told girls they don't deserve fair sport, maybe rethink using all too real and common sexual predation against young women as a punchline for your 'edgy' closing joke," Rowling said.
Rowling attacked HBO host John Oliver as an elite denying biological facts. (Photo by Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images | Photo by Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images)
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HBO host Bill Maher also recently attacked Democrats who defended ideas trans athletes in girls’ sports up until the election.
"Talk about doubling down on what got you f---ed in the first place," Maher said. "Even the one concession I've heard a few people on the losing side offer that liberals should stop saying that Trump voters are stupid comes with a kind of unspoken parentheses 'We know they are stupid, just don't say it.' I got bad news for you. They don't have a monopoly on stupid."
https://www.foxnews.com/media/jk-rowling-pushes-back-john-olivers-claim-theres-no-evidence-trans-athletes-threaten-girls