Twitter has pulled a post by trans activist Faye Fadem that featured a music video calling for the death of J.K. Rowling over the “Harry Potter” author’s anti-trans views.
British actor James Dreyfuss said he filed a complaint with Twitter’s moderators over the April 1 tweet by Fadem, who releases music under the name “Trust Fund Ozu.” He complained that Fadem’s video included the lyrics “As I kill (Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminists)” and “J.K. I hope you fit in a hearse” in apparent violation of the platform’s terms of service.
But in a screenshot he posted Saturday with Twitter’s response, the platform replied that: “After viewing the available information, we want to let you know that TrustFundOzu hasn’t broken our safety policies.”
Twitter has confirmed that is correct.
“Surprise, Surprise!” Dreyfuss captioned his reply. “So, death threats=Good. Saying ‘women are women’=Bad. @Twitter@TwitterSupport Congratulations. You’ve hit rock bottom. Seek help.”
But later on Saturday, Fadem tweeted that the video had been removed from the platform for violating Twitter rules. “This one doing numbers with the transphobes,” Fadem wrote above the since-deleted video. “Getting off twitter for the day.”
Fadem’s post drew anger from supporters among Rowling’s 14 million followers, with many calling for Fadem to be banned from Twitter.
Rowling herself weighed in on Fadem’s post in a tweet of her own on Saturday: “I’m afraid I can’t give a shout out to everyone promising to murder me – there are so many of you, and I’m a busy woman – but this one deserves a mention for the nineties rave vibe, @TrustFundOzu.”
After Rowling’s tweet began gaining traction, Fadem defended the video, calling it “tame” in comparison to the hate that trans people receive on a daily basis.
“Also I know it’s not the point, but this is a very tame tweet compared to what I and many other trans people get in our comment sections every day,” Fadem wrote on Saturday. “Like, this can’t be the worst thing people are saying to her.”
Above what seems to be another version of the video (which remains on Fadem’s page), Fadem wrote: “Glad I finally have a video to share every time J.K. Rowling posts transphobic bulls— (today).”
Rowling has become a lightning rod for supporters of trans people since June 2020, when she criticized an op-ed for using the phrase “people who menstruate” instead of “women.” Since then, she has regularly broadcast messages that have been dubbed transphobic and TERF (trans-exclusionary radical feminist) — which has led several high-profile collaborators, including Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint and Eddie Redmayne, to publicly cut ties with the author.
She was not featured in the live filmed segments of HBO’s “Harry Potter” reunion special, which premiered at the beginning of the year.
Earlier on Saturday, Rowling posted messages defending Dr. David Bell, a psychiatrist and prominent figure in debates about conversion therapy and the treatment of trans children. In a recent appearance on BBC News, he said that gender dysphoria needs to be carefully explored, rather than automatically affirmed.
“History will judge whether Dr David Bell was a hateful transphobe or trying to alert people to a medical scandal, but he’s far from the only health professional raising these concerns (and I have the letters and emails to prove it),” Rowling stated.
