J.K. Rowling talks legacy and transphobia on new podcast: "Whatever, I'll be dead"

London, UK - Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling said she doesn't care about how she will be remembered for posterity – because she'll be dead.

Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling said she doesn't care about how she will be remembered for posterity – because she'll be dead.
Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling said she doesn't care about how she will be remembered for posterity – because she'll be dead.  © Tolga Akmen / AFP

The bestselling British author known for her comments about transgender women – widely seen as unapologetically transphobic – said in a new podcast that she's not really concerned about how future generations will view her.

"I do not walk around my house thinking about my legacy," the controversial 57-year-old said in the first episode of The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling, out Tuesday.

"You know, what a pompous way to live your life, walking around thinking, 'What will my legacy be?' Whatever, I'll be dead. I care about now. I care about the living," she added.

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The seven-part podcast is based on conversations Rowling had with Megan Phelps-Roper, a former member of the wildly anti-LGBTQ+ Westboro Baptist Church, who "left a life of religious extremism in 2012" and who has denounced the church's hateful homophobic rhetoric.

Phelps-Roper reached out to the author hoping "to understand her perspective" regarding controversies surrounding the author and the backlash she has received over her positions – especially on transgender issues.

Rowling rejects accusations of transphobia, but for the past three years, she has angered LGBTQ advocates for consistently sharing anti-trans views with her 14 million Twitter followers.

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J.K. Rowling has made repeated anti-trans comments over the past years.
J.K. Rowling has made repeated anti-trans comments over the past years.  © DIA DIPASUPIL / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / GETTY IMAGES VIA AFP

Last Thursday, a day after The New York Times received two letters criticizing its recent transgender coverage, the paper published an equally controversial opinion piece titled In Defense of J.K. Rowling.

Hosted by Phelps-Roper, "The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling" is produced by The Free Press, a media company founded by former opinion editor for The New York Times Bari Weiss.

Weiss is described by some transgender rights advocates as a "key figure in promoting and platforming gender-critical and anti-transgender views."

Its first two episodes premiered on Tuesday. The remaining five will be released in weekly installments.

Cover photo: Tolga Akmen / AFP

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