"JK Rowling using the #NotOurCrimes is very problematic": Harry Potter author saying Scarlet Blake is "not a woman" divides the internet

Controversy erupted on X after author JK Rowling reacted to a tweet by Sky News about a 26-year-old transwoman named Scarlet Blake being jailed for life for murder. The publication referred to the convicted individual as a "woman" and Rowling reacted to the same and said that she was "not a woman."

Rowling used the hashtag "#NotOurCrimes" as she penned a tweet on February 26, 2024, and added a link to the news article in question. The author's post sparked a debate online and she received heaps of criticism as one X user said:

"JK Rowling using the #NotOurCrimes is very problematic. Crimes do not belong to a group of people. We do not criminalise groups of people based on the crimes committed by a few. This thinking is what leads to racism, homophobia and transphobia."

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Netizens react to JK Rowling's latest tweet

Netizen reacts to JK's tweet (Image via X/@ThomasWillett9)

On February 26, 2024, JK Rowling criticized Sky News on X after they shared a tweet about a 26-year-old being jailed and referred to the individual as a "woman."

She tweeted:

"I'm so sick of this sh*t. This is not a woman. These are #NotOurCrimes"

The tweet sparked a debate on X and netizens reacted to the Harry Potter author's views and said, "Crimes do not belong to a group of people." Some individuals called her an "awful person" and stated that the situation was "embarrassing."

While Rowling received criticism from some individuals for her latest remarks, some netizens also supported her views on gender identity.

The controversy reignited discussions surrounding JK Rowling's past comments on gender identity and transgender rights. On February 20, 2024, she posted about the new guidelines for transgender prisoners by the Scottish Prison Service and wrote:

"The trans activist outrage that ensues on here whenever I share my belief that jailed women shouldn’t be used as validation tools or emotional support props for trans-identified male s*x offenders is as revealing as it’s predictable."

She added:

"Such activists can’t bring themselves to concede that a man who was convicted of harming women/girls ought not to be incarcerated with the demographic to whom he is a proven danger, because if they do, all their stock arguments (‘no s*xual predator would bother to pretend to be trans’, ‘no trans woman has ever harmed a woman in a women’s only space’, ‘there is no danger in making all single s*x spaces unis*x’) are exposed as the lies they are."

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Who is Scarlet Blake, the subject of JK Rowling's tweet?

Blake, a 26-year-old trans woman, was jailed for life on Monday, February 26, 2024, and convicted of murder. As per Variety, she murdered a man by hitting and pushing him into River Cherwell in Oxford in 2021.

This reportedly came about four months after she reportedly killed a cat and live-streamed the same. Law enforcement officials stated that she was reportedly inspired by the Netflix title Don’t F*** With Cats, which focused on Luka Magnotta.

As per reports by BBC, the convicted murderer was sentenced to life imprisonment and will serve the sentence in a men's jail.