Jonathan Ross’ daughter Honey has helped him rethink his opinion on J.K. Rowling transphobia debate

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Jonathan Ross has backtracked on his comments about J.K. Rowling, after he defended the Harry Potter novelist’s remarks about transgender people.

The chat show host, 59, took to Twitter on Monday evening to admit that his 23-year-old daughter Honey had helped him see things from a different view.

This comes after Honey slammed Rowling for her comments about the use of the word woman, despite her famous father defending the author.

Jonathan – who shares Betty, 28, Harvey, 26, and Honey with his screenwriter wife Jane Goldman, 49 – posted on Twitter: ‘Those who know me will concede I try to be thoughtful & not a d**k.

‘Having talked to some people (OK,my daughters) re my earlier tweet, I’ve come to accept that I’m not in a position to decide what is or isn’t considered transphobic. It’s a wildly sensitive subject. Let’s keep talking.’ [sic]

The referenced ‘earlier tweet’ saw Jonathan post: ‘@jk_rowling is both right and magnificent. For those accusing her of transphobia, please read what she wrote. She clearly is not.’ After he had posted this, Honey criticised the millionairess author, 54.

Rowling faced criticism after reacting to a headline talking of ‘people who menstruate’, questioning why they weren’t referred to as women. 

Honey took to Instagram, where she has 25.6K followers, to share a viral Photoshopped book cover of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. 

The title had been changed to Harry Potter and the Audacity of This B***h’. 

Honey then shared a tweet by a Twitter user which slammed the author and accused her of ‘hating trans people’. 

It said: ‘Jk rowling really looked at a world protesting en masse against racism and police brutality and said u know what this is the perfect time to use my platform to remind everyone I hate trans people ???????’ [sic] 

The presenter’s tweet immediately sparked debate among his followers, with one responding: ‘I don’t know enough about this subject to talk with authority on it… and I sort of feel like you and J. K. Rowling are in the same boat as me.’ 

Reacting to the tweet, Jonathan stood his ground as he wrote back: ‘Well I think you’re sort of wrong. But thanks for keeping it polite.’

The tweeter user then said: ‘The world doesn’t need shouting and cancel culture right now, it needs togetherness and understanding. 

‘I appreciate you standing beside someone and something that you believe in, I’m just concerned that there’s a lot of confusion on both sides, and that it’ll do more harm.’

‘It is a heated and rather troubling debate,’ noted the talk show host. ‘But hopefully people will find space to both talk and listen.’ 

‘Sorry Jonathan but this is categorically wrong,’ stated another person on Twitter, prompting the star to respond: ‘No need to be sorry. We can have different opinions.’

Social media personality Heather Rutherford hit back: ‘Jonathan, I’m disappointed. I followed you after we met at the Yogscast – I even have a picture of us together – but now I can’t continue to follow.

‘She’s been a transphobe for YEARS. She literally tells them they are worthless in the same tweet that she raises them up in.’  

Jonathan wrote in response: ‘I have never seen her call anyone worthless. Can you support that claim? Genuinely asking.’

‘Where do I start?!’ Heather tweeted back. ‘She literally said yesterday that a woman without a period isn’t a woman.

‘She devalues trans lives on a regular basis by saying they erase lesbians Please go and talk to @Mermaids_Gender or any trans charity and they’ll give you a entire essay on her.’ 

Rowling made her opinions known while tweeting about an article entitled ‘Opinion: Creating a more equal post COVID-19 world for people who menstruate’ last week.

She wrote on Friday: ”People who menstruate.’ I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?’ 

The writer was swiftly criticised by LGBTQ celebrities like Jameela Jamil, Sarah Paulson, and Jonathan Van Ness, among others.

Rowling followed up in a thread: ‘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.’ 

She continued: ‘The idea that women like me, who’ve been empathetic to trans people for decades, feeling kinship because they’re vulnerable in the same way as women – ie, to male violence – ‘hate’ trans people because they think sex is real and has lived consequences – is a nonsense. 

‘I respect every trans person’s right to live any way that feels authentic and comfortable to them.  

‘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.’

Rowling previously made her views on the trans community known in December, which earned her the label of trans-exclusionary radical feminist (TERF). A representative for Rowling declined to comment when approached by DailyMail.com.

This is not the first time she has come under fire over the topic after she liked a 2018 tweet that referred to transgender women as ‘men in dresses.’  At the time, a spokesperson told The Sun that Rowling’s like was a ‘clumsy and middle-aged moment’.

In December, Rowling showed support for Maya Forstater, who lost a court case against her former employers after they fired her over transphobic comments.

Rowling tweeted: ‘Dress however you please. Call yourself whatever you like. Sleep with any consenting adult who’ll have you. Live your best life in peace and security. But force women out of their jobs for stating that sex is real? #IStandWithMaya #ThisIsNotADrill’ 

Elsewhere, Harry Potter’s Daniel Radcliffe slammed Rowling over her comments. 

The actor, 30, felt compelled to make a statement about the acclaimed novelist.

In response, Radcliffe hit out at the author who made him famous, saying: ‘To all the people who now feel that their experience of the books has been tarnished or diminished, I am deeply sorry for the pain these comments have caused you’. 

Radcliffe wrote: ‘Transgender women are women. Any statement to the contrary erases the identity and dignity of transgender people and goes against all advice given by professional health care associations who have far more expertise on this subject matter than either Jo or I’. 

He continued: ‘I realize that certain press outlets will probably want to paint this as in-fighting between JK Rowling and myself, but that is really not what this is about, nor is it what’s important right now. 

‘While Jo is unquestionably responsible for the course my life has taken, as someone who has been honored to work with and continues to contribute to The Trevor Project for the last decade, and just as a human being, I feel compelled to say something at this moment.’

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