Would people still hate J.K. Rowling if she wasn't a TERF?

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What people have a problem with is her ongoing public remarks about trans-women. People find her views on that topic to be deeply disturbing and trans fobic. For that reason I think people are trying to lessen the damage she can create by de-platforming her. Most authors throughout history are dead by now and take no active part in today's public debate.

This also illustrates the power of "celebrity". The general public look up too much to vacuous celebrities for life advice which is naive and dangerous. Beyond writing fantasy novels, people should really be astute enough to know that JK Rowling doesn't really have anything else to offer. Her opinions don't really need to be taken that seriously. But unfortunately we live in a world where celebrities are followed on social media so probably need to be deplatformed or cancelled from social media if they are unable to make reasonable public comments. This has happened to many high profile public figures already (such as certain Disney actors) on social media.

One thing I will admit that did come out of the recent J.K. Rowling controversies is that now it's finally acceptable to not like Harry Potter. When I was growing up, you were considered a loser if you didn't like Harry Potter. If you were British it was pretty much considered sacrilege to not like Harry Potter because HP was practically considered a national treasure.

Really? I would think the "petit bourgeoisie" and educated elite in Britian would turn their noses to Harry Potter as some commercial enterprise like Mcdonalds for the unwashed masses.

Harry Potter in Britain is not (and never will be) "high culture", In literary circles JK Rowling is considered a "fly by night" newcomer or a one-trick pony. You will notice all her projects outside of the HP franchise have been financially and culturally an abject failures to the point she will not be remembered for anything other than Harry.

I asked my daughter's opinion on this topic and she said she can't stand Rowling. I didn't realise this, but she said she was never into Harry Potter except for masking a bit when her friends liked it. In my daughter's opinion, the TERF issue is one thing (it's bad enough on its own), but she says Rowling's content is racist. She gave me several examples of non-Caucasian characters having cheesy names and stereotyped behaviours. My daughter says the content is very problematic because of racial stereotype even if we attempt to separate the author's personal POV on TERF matters.

Such stereotyping and inherent bias is symptomatic of nearly every major film/book franchise from Star Wars to Lord of the Rings. In that sense I don't think JK Rowling is that different.

When you are a straight European fiction author (of any fiction genre) you invariably create a fantasy that you relate to based on your own identity. Especially in the modern era a white author will struggle to create an authentic non-white character especially they grow up in an environment where their connection to such people is superficial at best.

What/who/where are these "literary circles"?

And "considered a "fly by night" newcomer or a one-trick pony"? Who said that?

I think you'll find that the Harry Potter series was never intended to be anything more than a story, and AFAIK has never been presented as a contender for a new Chaucer or Shakespeare.

Really? I thought Robert Galbraith was doing very well, and I read that "The Running Grave" is an international best seller going straight in at No. 1 in the bestseller lists in the UK, US and Australia after its first week being on sale, and that all six "Strike" novels - The Cuckoo's Calling, The Silkworm, Career of Evil, Lethal White, Troubled Blood and The Ink Black Heart - topped the national and international bestseller lists and the series has been adapted for television, produced by Brontë Film and Television.

Doesn't sound too bad for abject financial and cultural failures.

She has a pen name? ^

Very cool!

That was my point. I was responding to the poster that nobody would consider you a loser for not ever read/watched HP. The whole franchise was mean't to be a commercial success > literary masterpiece

But I acknowledge it's part of popular culture

When I was younger, my sister dumped the books in front of me and told me to read them. So I did. They hadn't all come out yet, but most of them had at that point.

Personally, I liked the world but I didn't care as much about the main storyline. I wasn't great at focusing when I was a kid and I found the books a bit slow paced for my taste. I was more into stories that didn't take themselves that seriously and had faster pacing. That's not really a criticism, just a preference.

However, I liked the concept of Hogwarts and was intrigued by the idea of Hogwarts Houses. I was more curious about the wizarding world surrounding Harry than his fight with Voldemort. Admittedly, I was actually a bit disappointed that Harry wasn't a Slytherin. Mainly because I liked spooky stuff and I wanted to know more about the dungeon.

Ultimately, I think it just wasn't the right genre for me. I was more into Sci-Fi, action adventure and supernatural horror. I still read the series though, so I could talk to my sister about it. However, I enjoyed playing various video games based on the franchise. I think Harry Potter is alright but I have series that I definitely prefer.

^^^ Low key, Slytherin were always the cool dark/goth/emo kids

Yeah I guess.

If she wasn't a TERF, she'd still be an islamophobe. If she wasn't a TERF, she'd still be an antisemite. If she wasn't a TERF, she'd still be a racist white woman who gives her POC characters names like "Cho Chang" and "Kingsley Shacklebolt." If she wasn't a TERF, she'd still be a heartless soul-sucking billionaire. If she wasn't a TERF, she'd still be a mediocre writer writing shoddy genre-fiction (perhaps the greatest crime of all...)

I don't know, if she wasn't a TERF I think I'd still have most of my opinions about her.

[edit]: Also, J.K. Rowling needs to learn what a said-bookism is (and why it's a thing to be avoided)
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SaidBookism "Ron ejaculated loudly"

^^^
You forgot to add....mic drop....that was brilliant Barchan!!
You are the Hermione Grainger of WP

Having been a goth kid, goth kids and cool kids have virtually zero overlap when Venn diagrammed.

Everyone secretly thought goths were cool....like Wednesday Adams dancing