Former first minister Nicola Sturgeon has claimed that Harry Potter author JK Rowling is “obsessed” with her. The comments came during an appearance at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, just a day after Rowling’s latest criticism.
In a post on X, Rowling described Sturgeon as a “world-class misogynist” and “profoundly disloyal” to her party, following Sturgeon’s criticism of the SNP’s election campaign in a new foreword for her book.
Amnesty comment
Asked by broadcaster Iain Dale if she wanted an “amnesty” with Rowling, Sturgeon said she was not “at war”.
“She seems to be at war with me,” she said. “So if we’re going to get an amnesty, I think it’s probably going to have to come from her.”
Rowling has been an outspoken critic of Sturgeon, particularly on gender issues, which have become contentious in Scotland since Sturgeon’s attempt to reform gender recognition laws in 2022.
Sturgeon hits out at Cherry
“We disagree on more than one thing – we disagree about independence, we clearly disagree on trans rights,” Sturgeon said. “My god, that woman is obsessed with me. I don’t spend as much time thinking about her as she does thinking about me.”
Sturgeon also criticised former SNP MP Joanna Cherry, whose book, published earlier this year, was heavily critical of Sturgeon’s time as leader and first minister. Sturgeon described the book as “shit”.
Cherry “seems to have an obsession with me that is not reciprocated”, Sturgeon said when asked if she had a question for Cherry, who is set to appear in a later edition of the show. “It’s not a question, it’s a challenge,” she added. “Can she get through more than 30 seconds of the answer to any question without talking about me?”
Asked if she had read Cherry’s book, Sturgeon said she had not. “One of the things that distresses me most the older I get is that realisation of all of the books I’ll never get to read,” she said. “Why on earth would I spend time reading one that’s shit?”
Responding, Cherry said: “It appears that the criticisms JK Rowling and I have made of Nicola Sturgeon’s politics and her behaviour, in particular her attack on the rights of women, have so discomforted her that rather than addressing them, she has resorted to a foul-mouthed rant. I think people can see through this.”
