Martina Navratilova defends JK Rowling against accusations of transphobia for refusing to consider transgender women as women

Martina Navratilova has come to the defense of renowned British author JK Rowling, who's facing significant criticism for her stance on transgender women.

Rowling has faced widespread criticism on social media for her remarks concerning the transgender community. The controversy began three years ago after the author had shared an article on social media and took issue with the use of the term "people who menstruate" instead of 'women.'

"People who menstruate.’ I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?," she posted.

In response to the backlash, Rowling doubled down on her views and laid out her reasons for being "worried about the new trans activism," in a statement posted on her website.

The 58-year-old has since frequently advocated for a clear differentiation between women and transgender women, regularly expressing her views on social media despite the criticism.

Rowling recently reiterated her stance with a straightforward "no" in response to a statement calling for transgender women to be recognized as women.

"Repeat after us: Trans women are women," the statement read.

"No," Rowling commented.

A user on X, formerly Twitter, shared a screenshot of Rowling's post and sarcastically commented on the author's "transphobic" views.

"Oh, but JK Rowling isn't transphobic. ...," the user posted.

Martina Navratilova, though, defended the the 58-year-old against the backlash, posting:

"Stating a fact is not transphobic...".

Martina Navratilova has shared her support for JK Rowling on previous occasions as well. In December last year, the 18-time Grand Slam champion came to the author's defense after she had faced criticism for liking a tweet by an anti-LGBTQ+ account, Libs of TikTok.

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Martina Navratilova criticizes Daniel Radcliffe for stance on transgender women

Martina Navratilova

In response to JK Rowling's stance on transgender women, British actor Daniel Radcliffe, who played the titular role in the Harry Potter films, denounced the author's opinion and voiced his solidarity with the trans community.

"Transgender women are women. Any statement to the contrary erases the identity and dignity of transgender people and goes against all advice given by professional health care associations who have far more expertise on this subject matter than either Jo (Rowling) or I," he said.

He also advocated for greater support for the transgender and non-binary communities.

"We need to do more to support transgender and non-binary people, not invalidate their identities and not cause further harm," he said via The Trevor Project (an LGBTQ suicide prevention charity).

Upon coming across Radcliffe's comments on social media, Martina Navratilova reprimanded the actor over his position.

"Just be quiet Daniel. Be quiet," she posted on X.