Several authors you have never heard of have left the literary agency that represents J. K. Rowling in “protest” over Rowling’s expressed views on transgenderism. They explained: “Freedom of speech can only be upheld if the structural inequalities that hinder equal opportunities for under-represented groups are challenged and changed.” What does that mean?
So far, Rowling’s publisher, Hachette, has refused to bow to the woke staff who similarly threatened to refuse to work on Rowling’s latest book on the grounds of her alleged transphobia. Hatchette’s statement read:
We are proud to publish J K Rowling’s children’s fairytale The Ickabog. . . . Freedom of speech is the cornerstone of publishing. We fundamentally believe that everyone has the right to express their own thoughts and beliefs. That’s why we never comment on our authors’ personal views and we respect our employees’ right to hold a different view.
We will never make our employees work on a book whose content they find upsetting for personal reasons, but we draw a distinction between that and refusing to work on a book because they disagree with an author’s views outside their writing, which runs contrary to our belief in free speech.