The BBC issued an apology to J. K. Rowling after the broadcaster suggested the Harry Potter author’s “derogatory comments” about transgender-identifying men could constitute a criminal offense under Scotland’s new hate-speech law.
The BBC reported earlier this month that Rowling could potentially run afoul of the 2021 Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act after it went into effect on April 1. Given it was April Fools’ Day, Rowling took to social media to mock ten transgender individuals, some of whom were convicted of sexual abuse, abduction, possession of child pornography, and indecent exposure. A day later, U.K. prime minister Rishi Sunak vowed the Conservative Party will protect free speech, and the Scottish police announced Rowling will not be charged under the country’s new hate-crime law.
The BBC apologized three weeks later for its reporting on the fantasy author’s so-called derogatory comments.
“This was inaccurate and we should have referred to the Act creating a new crime where it is an offence if someone communicates material or behaves in a threatening or abusive manner with the intention of ‘stirring up hatred’ based on these protected characteristics,” the BBC said, according to Deadline.
The law criminalizes acts of stirring up hatred based on disability, religion, sexual orientation, transgender identity, or being intersex. Such behaviors were already illegal in Great Britain under the Public Order Act of 1986, but were included in the Scottish measure as well.
“We apologise for any confusion caused and have reminded our teams of the importance of accuracy in our output,” the British broadcaster added.
This marks the third time that the BBC has made such an apology over its coverage of Rowling and her opinions on gender ideology; the other two apologies were issued in February 2023 when Rowling was accused of transphobia on the BBC’s radio shows. Both sets of accusations came amid the widely anticipated release of Hogwarts Legacy, which, despite boycott threats, became the best-selling video game of last year with more than 22 million copies sold.
At the time, the BBC said the hostile discussions about Rowling fell short of its editorial standards after the radio shows’ respective hosts failed to challenge their guests’ “transphobic” accusations.
It appears the broadcasting company does not want to make the same mistake again. Last month, Deadline obtained an internal nine-page document from the BBC telling its journalists and production teams to challenge guests who label others, including Rowling, transphobic.
“We need to consider the framing of stories, the language we use, the tone of coverage, the context we provide and the labels we apply to the views of contributors,” the briefing note reads. “Care is needed, for example with use of the term ‘transphobic’ to describe people who would not themselves accept that label.”
After the Scottish police said they would not treat Rowling’s divisive comments as criminal, the writer celebrated the news.
“I hope every woman in Scotland who wishes to speak up for the reality and importance of biological sex will be reassured by this announcement, and I trust that all women — irrespective of profile or financial means — will be treated equally under the law,” Rowling posted on X.