Mark Hamill explains why he ‘liked’ controversial JK Rowling post
‘Twitter is, unfortunately, no place for nuance,’ Star Wars actor said
Your support helps us to tell the story
This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.
The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.
Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.
Mark Hamill has defended himself after he became the centre of fan ire for liking a tweet from JK Rowling that many users deemed “transphobic”.
The prominent Star Wars actor was recently called out by a number of people who discovered he had “liked” the Harry Potter author’s reply to an earlier post made by ITV’s first trans broadcaster, India Willoughby.
“I’m more of a woman than JK Rowling will ever be,” the Loose Women host wrote, to which Rowling responded: “Citation needed.”
The Independent has contacted Rowling’s representative for comment.
“Why are you hitting the ‘like’ button for [Rowling’s] transphobic hate crusade?” one user commented, tagging Hamill, 71.
Another added: “Hey, @MarkHamill – I dunno if you realised it, but that tweet you liked from JK Rowling is extremely transphobic. Endorsing that kind of bigoted rhetoric seems extremely out of pocket for you so – before my heart breaks – please tell me that was misunderstanding or mistake.”
Following the social media pile-on, Hamill, who is known to be an outspoken Democrat, explained himself.
“What I ‘liked’ about this exchange was someone speaking their truth to power,” Hamill responded.
“Twitter is, unfortunately, no place for nuance. It’s imperative I make this abundantly clear: I support human rights for EVERYONE, regardless of their gender identity, PERIOD.”
Hours before his clarification, Willoughby had backed Hamill, saying: “I’m a fan of Mark Hamill. He’s a good guy. Ignore this crap from @FoxNews – typical Murdoch garbage. Mark’s totally onside with the LGBTs.”
Hamill had earlier mistakenly “liked” a problematic tweet from Rowling. In 2019, he liked her post in which she claimed women were being forced out of their jobs for stating that “sex is real”, adding the hashtags #IStandWithMaya and #ThisIsNotADrill.
“Ignorance is no excuse, but I liked the tweet without understanding what the last line or hashtags meant,” Hamill later said. “It was the 1st four lines I liked and I didn’t realise it had any transphobic connotation.”