Whether on Twitter on in interviews, JK Rowling is never afraid to weigh in on the political issues of the day – particularly when it comes to the newly installed leader of the free world.
Attending last night’s BAFTA ceremony, the much-loved author was asked by a reporter on the red carpet for her thoughts on ‘the political situation in the world at the moment.’
Her response? Without mentioning Donald Trump by name, Rowling appeared to throw a serious side-swipe at the new President, responding with ‘Let’s just say it’s a very interesting time to be writing a franchise about the rise of a populist maniac.’
So yes, we can probably take that to mean JK sees Trump as ‘a populist maniac.’
Rowling is referring, of course, to her Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them film franchise. Set around 80 years before the Harry Potter series, it deals with the rise of the dark wizard Grindelwald, a precursor to Harry’s nemesis Voldemort. The first film was nominated for Outstanding British Film at last night’s awards ceremony, and Rowling is currently thought to be working on the screenplay for a follow up (the second of a planned five instalments) alongside two as-yet-unnamed novels.
Over the weekend, the author became embroiled in a high profile Twitter feud with pro-Trump provocateur Piers Morgan, after tweeting that seeing comedian Jim Jefferies telling Morgan to f—k off was ‘exactly as satisfying as [she’d] always imagined.’
Morgan hit back by claiming to have ‘never read a single word of Harry Potter,’ going on to add that ‘the superior, dismissive arrogance of rabid Remain / Clinton supporters like @jk_rowling is, of course, precisely why both campaigns lost.’
‘The fact-free, amoral, bigotry apologism of celebrity toady Piers Morgan is, of course, why it’s so delicious to see him told to f—k off,’ she replied, adding that ‘If only you’d read Harry Potter, you’d know the downside of sucking up to the biggest bully in school is getting burned alive.’
As a final touch, she tweeted an old news story, detailing how Morgan lost to Rowling in the British Book Awards, with the caption #StillHurts. Advantage, Rowling.
On a cheerier note, the author also partied with Fantastic Beasts star Eddie Redmayne and Best Actress winner Emma Stone, and took a selfie with Hamilton creator and Potter fan Lin-Manuel Miranda. Mischief managed.