Category: US Politics

Twitter allowed the hashtag #RIPJKRowling to trend on the platform on Monday, despite the fact that the Harry Potter author is not dead. The hashtag began trending in response to the release of Rowling’s latest book, which is about a transvestite serial killer. One commenter called the hashtag a “bottomless pit of misogyny.”

British author J.K. Rowling was the target of heavy criticism on Monday over her latest book, Troubled Blood, which, according to Pink News, is about “a murderous cis man who dresses as a woman to kill his victims.”

“[Trigger warning] // transphobia,” tweeted one individual. “this woman is unhinged and i mean that. the amount of damage with could cause to the trans community is fucking horrifying. #RIPJKRowling.”

“in memory of jk rowling,” wrote another. “she ain’t dead, but she killed her own career by proudly hating trans people & no one would really miss her that much anyway #ripjkrowling”

“in memory of jk rowling, she’s not dead but she killed her career by being a transphobic piece of shit #RIPJKRowling,” echoed another.

“#RIPJKRowling she aint dead but her career is,” tweeted a fourth.

“Imagine getting cancelled so hard, we have to pretend that you died,” commented another.

“I know a few things about career suicide and this my friends is career suicide. #RIPJKRowling,” tweeted another individual alongside a purported screenshot of the book’s description.

Twitter allowed the hashtag to trend, despite the fact that Rowling is still alive, and despite the social media platform having previously stated that it will suppress trending hashtags if deemed necessary.

“At times, we do prevent certain content from trending and we have now done so with this trend,” explained a Twitter spokesperson in 2018, in response to “Kill All Jews” trending on Twitter after the phrase was graffitied by a vandal onto a Brooklyn synagogue.

On Twitter’s help page, the company explains that sometimes it “may prevent certain content from trending,” including trends which, “Contain profanity or adult/graphic references,” “Incite hate on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, religious affiliation, age, disability, or disease,” and, “Violate the Twitter Rules.”

“You have got to be kidding me. Trending. Not just the odd outlier saying it. Trending,” reacted one Twitter user, seemingly appalled with the “R.I.P. J.K. Rowling” hashtag.

“And people wonder why women are afraid,” added the Twitter user. “Nothing Rowling has ever said even begins to explain this threatening hatred. Sick.”

“A hashtag wishing death upon a woman, complete with sexist language… like a mass-death threat,” commented another concerned Twitter user. “This is the bottomless pit of misogyny.”

“People who pretend that this kind of utterly common threat isn’t, in fact, just a routine experience on this platform for criticizing gender identity, have no rational standing to critique women’s response to it,” wrote another.

The backlash over Rowling’s latest novel arrives in the wake of the author making waves for publicly defending the concept of biological sex.

“If sex isn’t real, there’s no same-sex attraction. If sex isn’t real, the lived reality of women globally is erased,” tweeted Rowling in June.

“I know and love trans people, but erasing the concept of sex removes the ability of many to meaningfully discuss their lives,” she added. “It isn’t hate to speak the truth.”

The author’s commentary on biology have also sparked major backlash, and have even prompted Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe to denounce her remarks, stating, “transgender women are women,” adding that he is “deeply sorry for the pain” caused by Rowling after she suggested that only women can menstruate.

You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, on Parler at @alana, and on Instagram.

Netflix has reportedly seen a surge in U.S. subscription cancellations following the controversy over the movie Cuties, which has generated a firestorm over its highly sexualized depiction of underage girls.

Variety cited a study from a data firm called YipItData that found that on Saturday, Netflix’s cancellation rate in the U.S. jumped to nearly eight times higher than the average daily levels recorded in August. The firm noted that Netflix subscriber churn rates — or cancellations — began to rise on Thursday, which is when the hashtag #CancelNetflix reached the top-trending spot on Twitter.

Netflix doesn’t release subscriber cancellation data and so the YipItData study is based on estimates and other secondary methods of divining Netflix’s internal figures.

YipItData didn’t provide estimates on the actual number of customers who have canceled, according to Variety.

Netflix reported that it had 193 million paying subscribers worldwide at the end of the second quarter in June.

Cuties continues to be a lightening rod for Netflix as the controversy draws scrutiny from a growing number of politicians. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) is among the Republican lawmakers calling on the U.S. Department of Justice to open a criminal investigation into Netflix for what Cotton called “peddling child pornography.”

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) has condemned Cuties as “child porn,” saying that Netflix is “complicit” in encouraging pedophiles and helping to fuel the child sex trafficking trade.

Netflix is standing by its decision to release the French movie, arguing that the film is actually a “social commentary” against the sexualization of children. Not buying it, Sen. Cotton tweeted Tuesday that protecting children should take precedence over “art.”

“We all have a duty to protect the children under our care,” the senator tweeted. “When adults fail in that duty, young lives are harmed, predators are emboldened, and society itself is coarsened as a consequence. No ‘art’ or ‘social commentary’ can justify such a moral outrage.”

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings has appeared on CNN twice in less than a week. The left-wing network has ignored the firestorm over the movie Cuties while interviewing Hastings.

Follow David Ng on Twitter @HeyItsDavidNg. Have a tip? Contact me at dng@breitbart.com