Bowen Yang blasts J.K. Rowling after U.K. court decision on trans women

Bowen Yang is calling out J.K. Rowling on social media.

The Saturday Night Live star posted a photo of himself sternly glaring into the camera and a raised middle finger to his Instagram stories with the caption, “Absolute f— u to jk rowling” with the transgender pride flag emoji.

The post came in the wake of a major legal decision in the United Kingdom on Wednesday, wherein the Supreme Court ruled that womanhood is legally defined by biological sex. Anti-trans activists viewed the decision as a major win, while pro-trans advocates saw the ruling as a concerning setback, as transgender women will no longer be included in certain same-sex spaces.

Rowling, who has dedicated much of her post-Harry Potter career to anti-transgender rhetoric, celebrated the decision and shared multiple victorious posts on social media. “I love it when a plan comes together,” she wrote in a caption of a photo of herself smoking a cigar, alongside the hashtags #SupremeCourt and #WomensRights.

In another post, Rowling wrote, “The fact that so many UK trans activists are shrieking about injustice says it all. You never had the rights you claim you’ve now lost; you had demands.”

Yang isn’t the only celebrity to call out Rowling and her work in the wake of the decision. Bridgerton star Nicola Coughlan expressed her disgust toward the ruling and Rowling’s advocacy by sharing an article from The Cut titled “This Is a New Low for J.K. Rowling” on her Instagram stories and writing, “Keep your new Harry Potter lads,” in reference to the upcoming HBO series adaptation of Rowling’s books. “Wouldn’t touch it with a ten foot pole,” she added.

Coughlan also set up a fundraiser for the trans charity Not a Phase, raising nearly €100,000 for the organization on social media.

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Additionally, Sean Biggerstaff, who portrayed Oliver Wood in three of the Harry Potter films, reposted multiple posts directly criticizing Rowling and voiced his support for the transgender community on Thursday. Biggerstaff also responded to Rowling directly, writing “Bigotry rots the wit” in response to her post joking that her celebratory cigar was still a cigar even if it identified as a blunt. 

He also directly responded to a post claiming that Rowling was “cast out for daring to defend women’s rights,” writing, “Christ, if that’s what being cast out looks like I’ll take some.”