J.K. Rowling Called David Tennant Part of the “Gender Taliban” for Defending Trans People

Doctor Who star David Tennant is facing the wrath of prominent British politicians and, of course, J.K. Rowling herself, after having the audacity to suggest that anti-trans lawmakers should try leaving trans people alone, actually.

The entire kerfuffle started on June 24, after Tennant called out Kemi Badenoch, the U.K. Minister for Women and Equalities, while accepting the Celebrity Ally award at this year’s British LGBT Awards.

During his speech, Tennant spoke about the importance of celebrating Pride with his family, saying, “we have skin in the game.” Over the past year, the actor has sported a nonbinary pin during several media appearances, most recently at the premiere of Mean Girls: The Musical on London’s West End. Last summer, he also made headlines for sporting a shirt that read “Leave trans kids alone, you absolute freaks” during a London press day promoting his Prime Video series Good Omens.

However, he admitted that he was “a little depressed” by the fact that “acknowledging that everyone has the right to be who they wanna be and live their life how they wanna live it, as long as they’re not hurting anyone else, should merit any kind of special award.”

“That’s just common sense, isn’t it? It’s human decency,” Tennant said. “We shouldn’t live in a world where that is worth remarking on. However, until we wake up and Kemi Badenoch doesn’t exist anymore…”

He paused as the audience cheered in response, before adding, “I don’t wish ill of her, I just want her to shut up.”

Badenoch, who is a member of the country’s right-wing Conservative party — colloquially known as the Tories — has a long record of supporting anti-trans policies, previously encouraging the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority to drop trans-inclusive workplace policies as a junior equalities minister. Badenoch has also promised that Conservatives will rewrite the country’s Equality Act to allow organizations to bar trans women from “single-sex spaces” should the party win the upcoming U.K. elections.

The day after Tennant’s British LGBT Awards speech, Badenoch responded on X, writing, “I will not shut up. I will not be silenced by men who prioritize applause from [British LGBTQ+ organization] Stonewall over the safety of women and girls.”

She went on to describe the Good Omens star as “a rich, lefty, white male celebrity so blinded by ideology he can’t see the optics of attacking the only Black woman in government by publicly calling for my existence to end.”

U.K. Prime Minister and fellow Conservative Party member Rishi Sunak echoed Badenoch in an X post of his own, writing, “Freedom of speech is the most powerful feature of our democracy. If you’re calling for women to shut up and wishing they didn’t exist, you are the problem.”

Instead of spending their time beefing with Tennant, the Tories might want to focus on their measly odds in this week’s national election. According to the Associated Press, the Labour Party is currently polling far ahead of the Tories. Judging from viral social media reactions to Badenoch and Sunak’s retorts, the general public isn’t too fond of them, either.

“David Tennant has already defeated 2 prime ministers,” one X user joked, referencing the plot of the actor’s Doctor Who seasons. “Your chances aren’t great.”

“I love that Sunak has decided his next step to improve his party’s popularity is to go to war with David Tennant, Britain’s most likable man,” another X user noted.

Unfortunately, whenever discussions around British trans rights make headlines, J.K. Rowling emerges from her literal castle to chime in. After another clip from the British LGBT Awards in which Tennant describes anti-trans advocates as “a tiny bunch of little whinging fuckers who are on the wrong side of history” and will “all go away soon,” the Harry Potter author felt compelled to respond on (you guessed it) X. She argued that by dunking on transphobes, Tennant was punching down at groups like “rape survivors who want female-only care,” “girls and women losing sporting opportunities to males,” and “female prisoners incarcerated with convicted sex offenders.”

Rowling also shared an article on X which suggested that Tennant was receiving less criticism than Badenoch in resulting media coverage because he’s part of the “Gender Taliban” and therefore “receives special dispensation, for they are a holy caste.”

Daniel Radcliffe Says That J.K. Rowling’s Anti-Trans Rhetoric Makes Him “Really Sad"

In a lengthy interview with The Atlantic, Radcliffe talked about his relationship — or lack thereof — with the Harry Potter author.

This response gets bleaker when you remember that Rowling, an author who routinely uses her social media presence to broadcast anti-trans rhetoric to millions of followers, will reportedly serve as a producer on a buzzy new Harry Potter TV adaptation at Max.

Tennant, who played Barty Crouch Jr. in the 2005 film Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, is hardly the first former Potter actor to piss off Rowling by supporting trans people. In a recent X post, Rowling said she refused to “forgive” Harry Potter stars Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson for speaking out against her transmisogyny. When The Atlantic asked Radcliffe about the incident during a recent interview, he simply responded, “I will continue to support the rights of all LGBTQ+ people, and have no further comment than that.”

Ultimately, TERF Island is going to TERF Island. But, hey! At least Tennant’s staunch support of queer and trans people means that Doctor Who lovers can rest easy knowing that not every British pop culture staple from our childhoods is totally ruined.

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