Best-selling Harry Potter author JK Rowling inspired millions with her work throughout the 2000s and 2010s. However, the British author has lost the respect of many fans, including Emma Watson and Daniel Radcliffe, after voicing her regressive views on gender. Now, as some fans examine Rowling’s shift toward transphobia, a pattern has emerged, with some even speculating that her increasingly hostile attitude toward the LGBTQ+ community may be the result of a black mold infestation.
In 2018, after years in the public eye, Rowling first caught the attention of fans when she liked a transphobic post on Twitter. She dismissed the action as a mistake, but one year later, she started following Magdalen Berns, a self-proclaimed transphobic YouTuber. Rowling excused this by explaining that she followed Berns, who was dying of a brain tumor, to follow her health journey. Later that year, she exposed her true beliefs in a tweet supporting a cisgender woman involved in a lawsuit over discriminatory transphobic remarks.
When lockdown began and people started spending all their time in their homes, Rowling’s transphobia was amped up. In June, she released an essay in which she said she was “worried about the new trans activism” and “the huge explosion in young women wishing to transition and also about the increasing numbers who seem to be detransitioning.”
After spending more time alone in her home, Rowling continued to spiral. Her posts continued to spark a backlash, and the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights group demanded the author return her 2019 Ripple of Hope award, as her public beliefs did not reflect the organization’s. In September 2020, Rowling published her latest book, Troubled Blood, under a male pseudonym.
In images posted to her social media platforms, fans noticed a trend. In the summer of 2024, an X user spotted what appeared to be black mold growing along the wallpaper behind Rowling in her profile photo. The post quickly became a meme, with most mocking Rowling for her increasingly bizarre transphobic posts. In contrast, others expressed genuine concern, comparing the recent photo with prior images showing the mold had grown. Prolonged exposure to mold spores can cause cognitive impairment, which many believe may be the source of Rowling’s deranged rants online.
Representatives for Rowling have refused to comment to national media outlets when questioned about the mold. The author has also declined to comment on the online rumors but continues to spread transphobia on X.
