Why does JK Rowling think we care about her tweets?

Give it a rest


JK Rowling OBE, award winning author, creator of the most successful book and movie franchise ever has become something of a twitter phenomenon in 2016.

She’s covered everything from Serena Williams to Donald Trump and I can’t be the only one getting tired of it. I can’t deny that I agree with a lot of what she says, the woman speaks sense – Trump isn’t my first choice for president either, I also think it would be totally cool if Dumbledore and Gandalf got married but it seems that every single new story is now followed up with a comment from Jo. I’m sick of seeing headlines like “JK Rowling just won the internet with this response” or “Rowling responds to twitter trolls”.

The fact is, a billionaire, straight, white woman’s opinion is not news, it’s not even relevant. Yeah we live in a country of free speech, and yeah twitter is a great platform for this but the following of Potter fans Rowling has gained who’re avidly pedalling her views as though they were the gospel truth is pathetic. Just because you admire something a person has done it doesn’t mean you should let them think for you.

JK’s desperate need to liken real world events to characters from the Harry Potter franchise almost feels like a desperate attempt to stay relevant. She’s prostituting some of our most loved aspects of the wizard world in order to gain recognition. If someone starts harping on about something vaguely political, of course you’re going to be more interested if it’s made into a metaphor into something more accessible, like Uncle Vernon watching Top Gear or Trump as Voldemort.

It’s great that platforms like Twitter give lots of people who wouldn’t otherwise be heard a voice, but Rowling’s relying on her status to incite twitter drama and turning Harry Potter into something deeply political.

Also, does anyone actually care?