Graham Norton has deleted his Twitter account after becoming entangled in a dispute with JK Rowling.
Norton recently interviewed the controversial Harry Potter author on his Virgin Radio show, a move which was heavily criticized by trans rights activists. Adding fuel to the fire, he is facing backlash over saying ‘cancel culture’ should be changed to ‘accountability’.
Norton defended his stance, citing “Am I suddenly the f***ing moral arbiter of the world who says who can be on TV or can’t? No. ‘I wouldn’t have her on to air her views, but she has the right to still wang on about her crime novel. The easiest thing would be to not have her on, but that didn’t seem right.”
This response earned him a fair bit of praise from the entertainment community, in particular Billy Bragg, who praised his response before he too was criticized by Rowling on Twitter: “Enjoying the recent spate of bearded men stepping confidently onto their soapboxes to define what a woman is and throw their support behind rape and death threats” of which neither Bragg nor Norton had mentioned.
Norton has since been asked about Rowling’s controversial views on trans rights, to which he said: “When I’m asked about it, I become a part of it. My voice adds nothing to that discussion and I’m sort of embarrassed that I’m somehow drawn into it.
“If people want to shine a light on those issues then talk to trans people. Talk to the parents of trans kids, talk to doctors, talk to scientists.Talk to someone who can illuminate it in some way.”
Graham Norton has since deleted his Twitter account.
Check out JK’s response to Billy Bragg in the Twitter chain below:
Very much enjoying the recent spate of bearded men stepping confidently onto their soapboxes to define what a woman is and throw their support behind rape and death threats to those who dare disagree. You may mock, but takes real bravery to come out as an Old Testament prophet. https://t.co/V3WFS31gAQ
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) October 13, 2022
Hard to think of anything that better illustrates misogyny than men complaining that a woman has a view on woman’s rights. https://t.co/4owDwrSXaf
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) October 13, 2022
You’ve compared feminists to Nazi eugenicists, Billy. You agreed with @grahnort that cancel culture is merely ‘accountability’. Do you believe threats of rape and murder are acceptable ‘accountability’? https://t.co/l7VT1xEnOJ
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) October 13, 2022
