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Thursday, January 28, 2016

J.K. Rowling Got In a Twitter Fight With a Scottish Parliament Member


Twitter feuds all around. The day after Kanye West, Wiz Khalifa, and Amber Rose took over Twitter with a highly publicized exchange of insults, J.K. Rowling found herself in a war of words with Glasgow East Parliament member Natalie McGarry.
The feud is pretty densely packed – drawing on themes of misogyny, trolling, and even Scottish independence – but it involves three parties: Rowling, who is well known for opposing Scottish independenceMcGarry, a member of Glasgow East Parliament and former activist for the Scottish National Party; and @BrianSpanner1, an anti-Nationalist Twitter account that has been battling McGarry since at least early 2014.
Rowling noticed a tweet that McGarry posted on Thursday, calling out the author for defending “abusive misogynist trolls,” and asked for an explanation.
McGarry responded by simply stating the name “Brian Spanner,” whom McGarry has battled over Scottish independence (their disagreements have escalated into more personal attacks).
J.K. Rowling attends the Lumos fundraising event hosted by J.K. Rowling at The Warner Bros. Harry Potter Tour on November 9, 2013 in London, England.
David M. Benett/Getty ImagesJ.K. Rowling attends the Lumos fundraising event hosted by J.K. Rowling at The Warner Bros. Harry Potter Tour on November 9, 2013 in London, England.
The tweet that McGarry referenced is one in which Rowling called @BrianSpanner1 “a good man” in October 2015.
Rowling and McGarry went back and forth for a few tweets as theHarry Potter author demanded evidence that she had ever supported misogyny or abuse, while McGarry claimed Rowling’s positive tweet to @BrianSpanner1 was evidence enough.
Finally, McGarry cited the actual tweet from October 2015. Rowling responded by saying she was praising the account for donating to her charity, Lumos.
However, McGarry then accused Rowling of bullying.
The feud continued in similar fashion…
Finally, the war of words came to an end when McGarry said she had to get on a plane to which Rowling responded, “We’ll have to take this offline.” But instead, the two made up after McGarry apologized … at least for a little while.
Dear @jk_rowling. On reflection, I do apologise for any misguided inference that you support misogyny or abuse instead of the folk you tweet
— Natalie McGarry (@NatalieMcGarry) January 28, 2016
McGorry then tweeted a screenshot of the comments in question.
Rowling responded in exasperation:


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