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John Oliver is no stranger to being heckled — but criticism feels oddly personal when it comes from Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling.
The Last Week Tonight host recently dedicated an entire episode of his talk show to dissecting the issue of transgender athletes in competitive sports, a subject on which Rowling has been very vocal. And it’s not his first time. As Oliver pointed out on Sunday, he also addressed the issue last year in his post-election show, which earned him a harsh rebuke from the British author, who took to social media with her anti-trans opinions.
“After that show aired, J.K. Rowling herself issued the single longest tweet I’ve ever seen in my life,” Oliver began, stifling a laugh as he offered a screenshot of the lengthy X post. “In which she claimed, among other things, that I’m ‘happy to watch females suffer injury, humiliation and the loss of sporting opportunities to bolster an elitist postmodern ideology.'”
The British comedian joked, “Honestly, it feels a bit weird to catch that much heat from the creator of Harry Potter, especially when I clearly look like what would have happened to him if they’d just left him in that cupboard for the rest of his life.”
HBO
Oliver, who added that he “stands by everything” he said in last year’s segment, went on to argue that “bigger and stronger bodies are not automatically advantaged in every scenario,” joking, “I mean, put The Rock in a pure barre class and see what happens.”
Within hours, Rowling shared a response on social media: “I understand why men like Oliver, who’ve consistently mocked anti-science people on the right, sold out initially,” she wrote. “They didn’t want to blow up their careers. Taking fashionable anti-women’s rights positions was the cost of doing business. But it’s time to read the f—ing room.”
Rowling and Oliver’s relationship wasn’t always so contentious. Back in 2019, the comedian revealed that he shared a sweet moment with the author on his first day in America. According to Oliver, he had just booked a gig on The Daily Show and was making his debut in a segment with then-host Jon Stewart, when he turned toward the crowd and spotted Rowling in the front row.
“She came round afterwards and I was kind of babbling at her saying, ‘It’s my first day in America… Is it normal that you’re here every night?” he recalled to Late Night host Seth Meyers in 2019. “And she hugged me, and it was amazing. And there was nothing I wanted more in that moment than a hug from J.K. Rowling. And then she leaned back and she held me by the shoulders and she said, ‘You look so much like Harry.'”
He quipped, “And that was not true. Only if Harry had been held back a few years — if Hogwarts had not gone as well for him, academically.”
Mike Marsland/WireImage
The year after he shared that story, Rowling first voiced her negative stance on transgender issues. She has since shared many controversial social media posts and reiterated rhetoric that many deem transphobic. Oliver has been among her critics.
Despite the animosity brewing between them, both Rowling and Oliver now have a home at HBO. Oliver’s Last Week Tonight is an acclaimed and consistent Emmy-winner for the network, now in its 12th season, while Rowling’s Harry Potter franchise is expanding into an HBO series that is expected to go into production this year for a potential 2027 launch. Rowling is signed on as an executive producer.
HBO and Max CEO Casey Bloys previously claimed that the Harry Potter TV show hasn’t “felt any impact” from author Rowling’s anti-transgender views, insisting, “It hasn’t affected the casting or hiring of writers or production staff or anything.”
Watch Oliver’s full Last Week Tonight segment on trans athletes above.
