(NewsReady.com) – There was a time when JK Rowling was one of the most beloved authors in the world. After all, she was the single mother who wrote her first book, “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone,” while receiving government benefits. The popularity of the novels was the ultimate success story. She made struggling moms worldwide believe that they, too, could see their dreams come true if they just kept working hard. Then, it all fell apart, and one artist is trying to erase her from the books entirely.
Bookbinder’s Mission
A transgender artist in Canada, Laur Flom, undertook a mission to remove any trace of Rowling from her Harry Potter books. They are ripping the author’s name off the books and replacing the book covers with ones they have created. The new book covers are black with the name written in gold. The spines of the novels have the series numbers written in Roman numerals.
The artist isn’t doing this for free, though. People who want one of the books with the author’s name removed will have to shell out 140 Canadian dollars ($105). Those who want the complete set will pay a hefty C$1,600 ($1194). Flom also rebinds books people already own.
Meanwhile, people can buy the original set on Amazon for a fraction of that price, $200.
Flom decided to start making the change to allow people who love Harry Potter to continue reading the novels without worrying about Rowling’s controversial remarks. The artist said Rowling’s comments “left a bad taste” in their mouth and they wanted to create a “safe space” for fans of the books.
Anti-Trans?
Rowling has faced a lot of criticism for her views on gender issues. Over the years, she has made a number of remarks, angering the LGBTQ+ community. It began in 2020, when Rowling retweeted an op-ed discussing “people who menstruate.” She joked there was a “word for those people […] Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?.”
‘People who menstruate.’ I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?
Opinion: Creating a more equal post-COVID-19 world for people who menstruate https://t.co/cVpZxG7gaA
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) June 6, 2020
The author later defended her views. Glamour reported she said it’s not “hate to speak the truth.” Further, she said the idea that she hates transgender people is “nonsense.” In the years since she made the original remarks, she has received backlash for supporting others who had made transphobic comments too.
In 2022, the LA Times reported singer Macy Gray said having surgery or using female pronouns doesn’t make someone a woman. Rowling responded by saying she would buy the Grammy winner’s entire catalog.
Today feels like a good day to ensure I’ve bought @MacyGraysLife’s entire back catalogue 🔥 pic.twitter.com/iIrPc9WvAQ
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) July 5, 2022
It’s unclear whether the author followed through.
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