I asked the writer and Rowling apostate Aja Romano, who made the 2020 BBC Radio documentary Can I Still Read Harry Potter?, to account for the depth of feeling. But part of the reason that the anger towards Rowling is so intense is that those who now loathe her once loved her, for championing the values of inclusion and tolerance in the Potter books. It seems clear that whatever planet the Rowling haters occupy slipped the gravitational pull of rationality some time ago. There is even a website - to enable transgressors to be identified. Perhaps the most sinister aspect of this affair is that lists of Twitch streamers who have played the game are being posted online so they can be boycotted. And never mind the fact that Rowling had no involvement in the concept or writing of the game (although she will of course receive royalties).

The fact that Girlfriend Reviews announced beforehand that they would be raising money for the Trevor Project (which provides counselling for LGBTQ+ teenagers) cut no ice with their detractors. This debacle seems fairly typical of the dismal level any discourse is conducted at these days that concerns Harry Potter - or more specifically the boy wizard’s creator JK Rowling, whose stance on women’s rights has seen her widely denounced as Grand High Transphobe.

Several of their fans begged them not to play the game, and during the live session, Shelby was reduced to tears when a phalanx of trolls subscribed to their channel and hurled insults at them. To express enthusiasm over this role-playing adventure, in which players become pupils at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, is to invite a barrage of abuse on social media.Įarlier this week the game reviewers Shelby and Matt, founders of the popular YouTube channel Girlfriend Reviews, announced that they would be trying out Hogwarts Legacy live on the video streaming service Twitch. If you want a quiet life, publicly eviscerate a kitten or burn down an orphanage sooner than admit that you’re playing Hogwarts Legacy, the new Harry Potter-themed video game from Warner Bros.

Jk rowling hogwarts legacy tweet