Controversy erupts on X as Stephen King supports J.K. Rowling's book

American horror author, Stephen King, seems to have divided his fans after he showed support for J.K Rowling's The Running Grave which the author released under her crime fiction pseudonym Robert Galbraith.

King took to X to say: “This is J.K. Rowling at her best, recalling the sheer readability of the Harry Potter books, but much darker.” He continued: “This got me through a difficult time.”

THE RUNNING GRAVE, by Robert Galbraith: This is J.K. Rowling at her best, recalling the sheer readability of the Harry Potter books, but much darker. This got me through a difficult time.

— Stephen King (@StephenKing) October 26, 2023

King had spoken against Rowling’s controversial transgender comments in the past, specifically in 2021. Some fans still seem to be 'disappointed' that he would promote her work after that.

One user wrote: "This feels like such a huge betrayal, I really thought better of you than this."

Another expressed their disappointment by simply saying: "Steve come on man."

Back in 2021, while speaking to The Daily Beast, King explained that he had been blocked by Rowling on X after disagreeing with her stance on trans women. He stated: “Jo cancelled me, she sorta blocked me and all that. Here’s the thing: She is welcome to her opinion. That’s the way the world works. If she thinks that trans women are dangerous, or that trans women are somehow not women, or whatever problem she has with it – the idea that someone ‘masquerading’ as a woman is going to assault a ‘real’ woman in the toilet – if she believes all those things, she has a right to her opinion.

“And then someone tweeted at me, ‘Do you think trans women are women?’ and I said, ‘Yes, I do.’ And that’s what she got angry about – my opinion. It’s like the old saying, ‘I don’t agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it'."

He added, at the time: “Nobody has ‘cancelled’ J.K. Rowling. She’s doing fine. I just felt her belief was, in my opinion, wrong. We have differing opinions, but that’s life.”

J. K. Rowling has not changed her opinion in relation to trans rights. She recently stated that she would “happily” serve time in prison rather than refer to transgender women as “women”.