When HBO’s John Oliver claimed over his recent monologue that there are no evidences that transgender athletes or biological men have no advantage over biological females, everyone knows that it is bound to get lambasted.
It was just not expected that the "Harry Potter" author was one of those who responed to the "Last Week Tonight" host’s tirade.
"The Harris campaign failed to formulate a response, especially when it's pretty easy to do," Oliver said to his viewers. "There are vanishingly few trans girls competing in high schools anywhere, even if there were more, trans kids like all kids vary in terms of athletic ability, and there is no evidence they pose any threat to safety or fairness."
J.K. Rowling took offense to this caim and described the rant as an example of "motivated reasoning and confirmation bias."
"Nothing about this feels good, because John Oliver generously gave his time for my charity Lumos and I liked him very much when I met him, but God knows, if you ever need an example of motivated reasoning and confirmation bias, this video's for you. An undoubtedly intelligent person spouts absolute bulls— to support something he wants to be true, but isn't," Rowling wrote on social media last 17 November.
She cited a United Nations report from last month that more than 600 biological females did not medal in more than 400 competitions in 29 different sports due to trans inclusion, totaling over 890 medals.
Rowling also referenced university student Payton McNabb, who suffered a concussion after getting spiked by a trans player during a high school volleyball game.
"Again and again I've come up against men who argue exactly what Oliver does here, using the very same talking points. With a straight face, the 'believe the science' guys will say 'actually, we don't yet have enough data to say whether men and boys are stronger and faster than women and girls'. The 'be kind' crew can't see what the issue is. 'Why are you bothered, it only affects a tiny minority of females?'" she wrote.
She criticized Oliver as one of the elites who to "prove to their progressive credentials" will "stare unabashedly into a camera and insist that their audiences' eyeballs are incapable of seeing what's plain as day."
"If you want to tell the world you're happy to watch females suffer injury, humiliation and the loss of sporting opportunities to bolster an elitist post-modern ideology embraced by a minute fraction of the world's population, fair enough; you're allowed your opinion. But if you've just told girls they don't deserve fair sport, maybe rethink using all too real and common sexual predation against young women as a punchline for your 'edgy' closing joke," Rowling said.