'Succession's' Brian Cox Slammed for Defending J.K. Rowling Trans Comments

Succession star Brian Cox has been criticized on social media for speaking out in defense of J.K. Rowling, whose comments regarding transgender women have sparked controversy in recent years.

British author Rowling—who has faced backlash over her stance for more than three years—has been an outspoken opponent of Scotland's recently passed Gender Recognition Reform Bill, which would simplify the process for people applying for legal gender recognition.

Some of the changes suggested in the bill include streamlining the process for legal gender recognition by changing the current evidence requirements "which can be barriers for trans people," according to the Scottish government.

Scottish-born actor Cox, 76, weighed in on the backlash that Harry Potter author Rowling has faced for her stance on the issue when he appeared on BBC One show Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg.

"I don't like the way she has been treated, actually," Cox said when asked for his thoughts. "I think she's entitled to her opinion, she's entitled to say what she feels. As a woman, she's very much entitled to say what she feels about her own body."

"There's nobody better to say as a woman," Cox went on. "So I do feel that people have been a bit high and mighty about their own attitude towards J.K. Rowling, quite frankly."

Cox's comments sparked outrage on Twitter, where a number of detractors pointed out that nobody on the BBC discussion panel identified as transgender.

British broadcaster India Willoughby, who describes herself as the world's first trans newsreader, tweeted a clip of the video in question, alongside the caption: "Here's yet another BBC panel discussing trans, and particularly about the right to how someone's body is talked about and regarded in law. CAN ANYONE SPOT WHAT's MISSING IN THIS IMPORTANT DEBATE ABOUT TRANS?"

"It's also interesting that the grotesque daily abuse of powerless trans people is completely ignored—and the main concern is comments made to JK Rowling," Willoughby added.

Other critics on Twitter charged that their issue with Rowling had nothing to do with her own body.

"Yes, she is entitled to her opinion about HER body! Not the bodies of others and what they choose to do with them!" said one. "Therein lies the issue, Brian!"

"What has she said about her own body like her literal entire thing has been targeting another group of people," commented another.

"Let's get this straight," another wrote. "No one is entitled to deny another person's existence. No one is entitled to deny another person their rights."

"Defending someone's right to say something rather than what they said implies you know that what they said is indefensible," tweeted another.

However, some Twitter users defended Cox for his statement, with one writing: "Bravo Brian Cox! Have you noticed there's an increasing number of celebrities realising they could be on the wrong side of this and coming out supporting @jk_rowling."

"'She's entitled to her opinion' PERIOD POINT BLANK! You can never speak your mind these days bc everybody's a f****** snowflake," said another.

This is not the first time that Cox has publicly defended Rowling. During an appearance on U.K. TV show Piers Morgan Uncensored in May 2022, the actor described so-called cancel culture as "a kind of modern day McCarthyism."

"I thought there was something deeply unjust about it. And I just felt that," Cox told the show's titular host of the reaction to Rowling, per the Press Association. "It is happening time and time again. It is not only the people who are canceled.

"It is also people like their families, like their children, like their parents. It has such ramifications. It creates like an earthquake situation."

As for Rowling herself, the writer said in an interview in December that she likes to "mock" her critics."

"The only time I've ever made reference to being canceled, my book sales went up," Rowling said in an interview on author Suzanne Moore's blog, Letters from Suzanne. "Why am I even laughing? I can't believe I'm saying these words. But you have to mock them. I do not consider myself canceled."

Rowling stirred controversy in 2019 when she publicly supported Maya Forstater, a U.K. tax specialist who was fired over tweets that were deemed to be anti-trans.

In an essay published on her personal website in June 2020, Rowling shared some of her views on transgender issues.

She wrote: "When you throw open the doors of bathrooms and changing rooms to any man who believes or feels he's a woman—and, as I've said, gender confirmation certificates may now be granted without any need for surgery or hormones—then you open the door to any and all men who wish to come inside. That is the simple truth."

Also in June 2020, Rowling reacted to an article that referred to "people who menstruate," tweeting: "I'm sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?"

While some trans activists branded Rowling a "TERF"—an acronym for trans-exclusionary radical feminist—she stood her ground on the issue.

Rowling tweeted at the time: "If sex isn't real, there's no same-sex attraction. If sex isn't real, the lived reality of women globally is erased. I know and love trans people, but erasing the concept of sex removes the ability of many to meaningfully discuss their lives. It isn't hate to speak the truth."

"I respect every trans person's right to live any way that feels authentic and comfortable to them," she went on. "I'd march with you if you were discriminated against on the basis of being trans. At the same time, my life has been shaped by being female. I do not believe it's hateful to say so."

Several actors associated with the Harry Potter franchise have publicly disagreed with her, including Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint.

In July 2021, Rowling stated on Twitter that she had received a "pipebomb" threat amid an onslaught of attacks over her previous statements about trans women.

She has continued to speak out about the way that the internet has "canceled" her, tweeting in support of singer Macy Gray, who in July 2022 made several controversial comments on the definition of a woman.

Gray faced backlash on Twitter, prompting Rowling to write in response: "Endless death and rape threats, threats of loss of livelihood, employers targeted, physical harassment, family address posted online with picture of bomb-making manual aren't 'mean comments.' If you don't yet understand what happens to women who stand up on this issue, back off."