Pop star Jade Thirlwall has led a crowd of thousands in an anti-J.K. Rowling chant during a music festival known for celebrating LGBTQ+ culture.
While performing on the Main Stage at Mighty Hoopla in London Saturday evening, Thirlwall ignited the crowd when she chanted “transphobes” and the crowd responded: “F*** you!”
She then changed the prompt to “J.K. Rowling” to which the crowd responded with another enthusiastic “F*** you!”
Video of the moment was shared on social media with on-screen text reading: “Jade, the legend you are!!!”
Rowling, author of the acclaimed Harry Potter series, has come under intense scrutiny during the last few years for her comments about women and transgender rights.
The author, 59, first made controversial comments about the transgender community in December 2019. Since then, she has published and retweeted numerous posts containing hateful rhetoric toward the trans and non-binary communities.
Rowling has denied being transphobic, but has previously stated that she would “happily” go to prison for misgendering a trans person rather than refer to them by their preferred pronouns.
She’s even gone so far as to dismiss concerns that her views on transgender people will damage her legacy. When asked in 2023 by interviewer Megan Phelps-Roper about her legacy in the podcast titled The Witch Trials of JK Rowling, the Harry Potter author said she doesn’t think about it.
“I think you could not have misunderstood me more profoundly. I do not walk around my house thinking about my legacy, what a pompous way to live your life thinking about what my legacy will be. Whatever! I’ll be dead, I care about now, the living.”
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Meanwhile, Thirlwall has been outspoken about the need to support LGBTQ+ rights.
A former member of the girl group Little Mix, Thirlwall said in a recent interview with Gayety: “I’ve always been quite vocal, and I’m not always going to get it right. But you can’t be a pop artist right now without speaking out about certain things.
“We’re seeing an attack on the trans community, and I have a very big LGBTQ+ fanbase,” she continued. “I can’t sit back and not be vocal about defending that community. I’m happy to pay the consequences if it means doing the right thing.”
Thirlwall’s fans have celebrated the anti-Rowling chant and the singer’s Mighty Hoopla performance.
“Out of this world. That was beyond anything in terms of a show. The woman she IS,” one fan wrote on X.
“Jade thirlwall is THAT GIRL,” another said.
“JADE AMELIA THIRLWALL I LOVE YOU SO MUCH and f*** you transphobes and jk rowling,” someone else wrote.
