Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

JK Rowling receives apology from Natalie McGarry after being accused of 'supporting misogynist trolls'

Natalie McGarry said the Harry Potter author 'bullied' her when she accused JK Rowling of 'cosying up to trolls'

 

Rachael Revesz
Thursday 28 January 2016 21:12 GMT
Comments
The Harry Potter author has demanded an apology unless the MP provides 'evidence'
The Harry Potter author has demanded an apology unless the MP provides 'evidence' (Getty)

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.

JK Rowling has received an apology from Glasgow-based MP Natalie McGarry for accusing her of “copying up” to online trolls who post misogynist tweets.

The Twitter spat on Thursday started with Ms McGarry, who represents Glasgow East constituency, accusing the author of “defending misogynist trolls” and said she “regretted” queuing up to buy Ms Rowling’s books.

When asked for evidence by Ms Rowling, the MP said the author had tweeted “support” of a user called “Brian Spanner”.

The multi-millionaire questioned whether the argument was due to the fact that she had thanked the “Brian Spanner” account for raising money for her children’s charity Lumos.

“You aren't some random hater, Natalie. You're an elected politician and you've accused me of supporting abuse and misogyny.”

“So you need to provide some evidence for that or I'm going to need an apology,” Ms Rowling added.

Ms McGarry accused Ms Rowling of “bullying her” and said she has a “school in internet abuse” because she “interacts with trolls.”

Rather than continuing the debate, the MP told her followers she was stepping onto a plane and users could "scream your uninformed Twitter outrage into the empty void" in the meantime.

Ms McGarry then apologised for the tweets.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in