JK Rowling says people 'misunderstood' her transgender views

'Harry Potter' author JK Rowling has said that she "never set out to upset anyone" over her past comments on transgender issues.

The 57-year-old recently opened up about her thoughts in a new podcast series called The Witch Trials of JK Rowling, in the trailer of which she was seen saying that many have "misunderstood" her. 

"What has interested me in recent years, particularly on social media [is when fans say], 'You've ruined your legacy. Oh, you could have been beloved forever, but you chose to say this,'" Rowling said while speaking in the trailer for the podcast, which is hosted by author and activist Megan Phelps-Roper,

"And I think: 'You could not have misunderstood me more profoundly.'"

"I never set out to upset anyone," she continued. "However, I was not uncomfortable with getting off my pedestal."

In a series of tweets about the upcoming podcast series, Rowling said she had agreed to take part in the project, after being approached by a former member of the Westboro Baptist Church Phelps-Roper, because she felt the pair could have a "real, interesting, two-sided conversation that might prove constructive".

In the podcast series, which is set to premiere on 21 February, Rowling talks "about the controversies surrounding her – from book bans to debates on gender and sex."

The writer first made headlines in June 2020 after sharing a series of tweets on her thoughts regarding the concept of sex.

"If sex isn't real, there's no same-sex attraction. If sex isn't real, the lived reality of women globally is erased," she tweeted at the time. "I know and love trans people, but erasing the concept of sex removes the ability of many to meaningfully discuss their lives. It isn't hate to speak the truth."

Rowling has ever since received threats online as well as criticism.

She previously tweeted that she has received "so many death threats I could paper the house with them".

Recently, police began investigating when a Twitter user allegedly tweeted, "Don't worry you are next" to Rowling after she called Salman Rushdie's stabbing attack on a stage in New York "horrifying news" on Twitter.