JK Rowling celebrates her 55th birthday on the same day as Harry Potter’s 40th with a surprise cake… following her ‘transphobic’ comments
JK Rowling celebrated her 55th birthday on the same day as her iconic character Harry Potter’s 40th.
The writer, 55, who has recently came under fire for her comments about transgender people, took to Twitter on Friday to show off her surprise birthday cake and to thank fans for their well wishes.
Sharing a picture of the delectable treat, she wrote: ‘To all the lovely people who’ve wished me happy birthday, thank you so much and look at my surprise birthday cake!’
Milestone: JK Rowling celebrated her 55th birthday along with her iconic character Harry Potter’s 40th on Friday (pictured in 2019)
The elaborate celebration cake which featured a troll that was sat in a woodland, with a fondant sword placed next to it.
At the same time, fans honoured Harry Potter on what would have been his 40th birthday, as the main character of her famous books was born on July 31 1980.
In the movies the wizard is played by Daniel Radcliffe, who is just 31 in real life, and the first book The Philosopher’s Stone was released in 1997.
His 40th birthday is a big deal for fans and many have taken to social media to share how much the books, and indeed the character, means to them.
Grateful: Thanking fans, she wrote: ‘To all the lovely people who’ve wished me happy birthday, thank you so much and look at my surprise birthday cake!’
Unique: The author also shared a picture of her elaborate birthday cake which featured a troll that was sat in a woodland, with a fondant sword placed next to it
Much loved: Fans have also been honouring the main character of her famous books – Harry Potter – on what would have been his 40th birthday (Daniel Radcliffe pictured as the character in film still)
It comes after Rowling found herself embroiled in controversy after making comments about transgender people last month.
The author was hit by what she described as ‘relentless attacks’ after she took issue with an online article about ‘people who menstruate’.
She tweeted to her 14.5m followers: ‘I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?’
Controversy: Rowling was hit by what she described as ‘relentless attacks’ after she took issue with an online article about ‘people who menstruate’ last month
The acclaimed novelist then penned a deeply personal essay to address the controversy, revealing she was sexually assaulted in her 20s and saying she still feels the scars of ‘domestic violence’ in her first marriage.
Her remarks sparked backlash from a range of stars including Daniel, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, and Eddie Redmayne, who stars in her Fantastic Beasts films.
In response to her remarks, Daniel wrote a heartfelt blog post for The Trevor Project, a non-profit devoted to suicide prevention among LGBTQ+ youth.
He said: ‘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.’
Statement: In response to her remarks, Daniel wrote a heartfelt post for The Trevor Project, a non-profit devoted to suicide prevention among LGBTQ+ youth (pictured in February)
Hitting out: Her remarks led to a backlash from stars including Radcliffe and Eddie Redmayne, who stars in Rowling’s Fantastic Beasts films