“Donʼt worry, youʼre next”: JK Rowling threatened after tweet about Iranian writer Salman Rushdie

Author:
Anna Kholodnova
Date:

Police in Scotland said they are investigating a threat author JK Rowling received in response to a tweet about the attack on Salman Rushdie.

CNN writes about it.

"We have received reports of a threat online and officers are investigating," said a spokeswoman for Police Scotland.

Rowling wrote that she felt very bad because of the news about the attack on the writer Salman Rushdie. "Let him be ok," she wished. And received a reply to her tweet: "Donʼt worry, youʼre next."

Rowling then posted screenshots of the threat and commented: "To everyone sending messages of support, thank you, the police are involved (already involved with other threats)."

  • On August 12, an unknown man attacked writer Salman Rushdie while he was giving a lecture at the Chautauqua Education Center in the United States of America. After the operation, Rushdie was on a ventilator. As of the evening of August 12, he could not speak. The writer is believed to have lost an eye, has nerve damage in his hand and an injury to his liver.
  • In 1988, Salman Rushdieʼs book “The Satanic Verses” was banned in Iran. Many Muslims consider it blasphemy. In 1989, then-Iranian leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, issued a decree calling for Rushdieʼs death. In Iran, a reward of $3.3 million is offered for the murder of the writer.
  • 24-year-old Hadi Matar of Fairview, New Jersey, is charged with the attack on Salman Rushdie. He pleaded not guilty to attempted murder and assault.
  • In June 2020, J. K. Rowling joked on Twitter about the phrase "people who menstruate" in the title of the article, a term the publication used to avoid offending trans men and non-binary people. Rowling hinted that "people who menstruate" are essentially women. After that, the writer was accused of intolerance towards transgender people. Among those who criticized Rowling were actors Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson, who played the main characters in the Harry Potter film series. Rowling later explained that her comments about transgender people were related to personal experiences of domestic and sexual violence. Her father was disappointed that he had a daughter instead of a son, so Rowling considered transitioning.
  • On September 15, 2020, a new detective story by J. K. Rowling was released — "Stupid Blood", which tells about the investigation of the crimes of a transgender serial killer. The writer was accused of transphobia, and she began to be "hidden" in social networks.