Wizarding icon Harry Potter’s stance on abortion was not a likely question on readers’ minds. That is, perhaps, until an image of a supposedly deleted tweet from “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling spread on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram on June 26, 2022.
The purported tweet reads, “If you American birds could keep your legs closed then maybe you wouldn’t need abortions in the first place?”
The image is made to look like it shows a real tweet. It shows Rowling’s current Twitter photo, her Twitter handle, and a blue verified check-mark. But according to her current Twitter feed and archived versions of it, Rowling never sent the tweet in the image.
(Screenshot from Twitter)
PolitiFact reached out to Rowling, but we did not hear back. However, a spokesperson for Rowling told Snopes and Reuters that the tweet was fake.
The fake tweet spread in the wake of the June 24, 2022, U.S. Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade. The court’s decision eliminated federal protection of abortion access and turned the decision of how to regulate abortion over to the states.
Rowling has a history of controversial tweets about the LGBTQ community, and specifically transgender people. But she has tweeted several times in support of abortion access.
On June 28, 2022, she shared a video of a British politician showing support for the Roe v. Wade decision. “More proof, as though it were needed, that women’s rights are under attack across the developed world. #RoeVsWade,” Rowling wrote.
On May 6, 2022, following the leaked draft of the Supreme Court opinion, she tweeted that she believes, “women all over the world should have access to safe, legal abortion.”
We rate this viral image False.
Truth-o-meter Ruling
IF YOUR TIME IS SHORT
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The image is not of a real J.K. Rowling tweet.
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J.K. Rowling’s Twitter feed suggests that she supports abortion access.
Statement
Context
a TweetSpeaker/Target
Statement Date
Our Sources
Tweet, June 26, 2022
Tweet, June 26, 2022
Tweet, June 26, 2022
Instagram Post, June 27, 2022
Facebook Post, June 26, 2022
J.K. Rowling, Tweet, June 28, 2022
J.K Rowling, Tweet, May 6, 2022
Twitter Feed, J.K. Rowling, accessed June 30, 2022
The Wayback Machine, J.K. Rowling’s Twitter Feed, accessed June 30, 2022
Archive.is, J.K. Rowling’s Twitter Feed, accessed June 30, 2022
U.S. Supreme Court, "19-1392 Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization," June 24, 2022
Politico, "Supreme Court has voted to overturn abortion rights, draft opinion shows," May 2, 2022
Brittanica, "Roe v. Wade," accessed June 30, 2022
Glamour, "A Complete Breakdown of the JK Rowling Transgender-Comments Controversy," January 3, 2022
Snopes, "Did JK Rowling Tweet if 'American Birds' Kept 'Legs Closed' Maybe They Wouldn't Need Abortions?" June 28, 2022
Reuters, "Fact Check-No evidence JK Rowling tweeted 'keep your legs closed' in response to US abortion ruling," June 27, 2022
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