JK Rowling’s Handprints In UK Vandalized With Red Paint Amid Transphobic Debate

Author JK Rowling’s handprints in UK’s Edinburgh have been vandalized with red paint Monday, July 13, allegedly by attackers who took issue with her "transphobic" tweets last month.

The imprints of her hands, a tribute to the author that was in place outside Edinburgh City Chambers, were left with a trans flag planted next to it following the act of vandalism, The Sun reported. The paint now has been removed.

The Harry Potter author, 54, sparkedcontroversy after she tweeted out her response to a headline of an article about “people who menstruate.” Her comments were seen as a mockery toward the transgender community leading to fallout with many Twitter users.

“I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?” she had written in the tweet, appearing to insist that only women menstruate. Twitter users called her comments inaccurate, reminding her of the fact that it’s not only women born women who menstruate.

“My life has been shaped by being female,” the author, said to be worth £765 million, responded. "I do not believe it’s hateful to say so.”

Rowling further intensified the debate when she shared a nearly 4,000-word blog post in a tweet that came captioned as "TERF wars,” a term representing trans-exclusionary radical feminist, which critics used to refer to the author.

Rowling said the blog post was in support of a tax specialist, Maya Forstater, who was fired for tweets deemed as anti-transgender.

GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation), announced earlier this month that they were working with two major Harry Potter fan groups, MuggleNet and The Leaky Cauldron, to collectively condemn Rowling’s comments about transgender rights while doubling down on their commitment to create a comfortable space for readers regardless of their sexuality and gender identity.