Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling has sparked outrage from her fans after she "liked" a tweet that referred to transgender individuals as "men in dresses."
Twitter users who follow Rowling were quick to notice that Rowling had hit the "like" button on a tweet that was posted amid a row about the status of transgender women in the Labour party.
"I was shouted at by men at my first Labour Party meeting aged 18 because I asked them to remove a Page 3 calendar," the tweet read, as reported by Daily Mail.
"I've been told to toughen up, be louder, stronger, independent. I've not often felt supported. Men in dresses get more brocialist solidarity I never had. That's misogyny!" it continued.
While the tweet no longer appears in Rowling's "liked" posts, a screenshot has been circulated by users on the social media platform.
"How crushing for all the trans kids out there that love her work. And for the record, trans people don't 'want to be other gender, they inherently 'are,'" a user named Leanne Donnelly wrote.
Another twitter user suggested that Rowling should clarify whether she believes that transgender women are men in dresses and those fighting for their rights is misogyny.
Transgender journalist Shon Faye had pointed out that the author of the tweet in question has previously sent messages referring to transgender women as "men."
Rowling's agents have explained that the author had not intentionally liked the post, and dismissed it as a "clumsy and middle-aged moment." They further noted that it was not the first time that the author had "favorited" something by holding her phone incorrectly.
A transgender character has been included by Rowling in her detective novel "The Silkworm," which she wrote under the pen name Robert Galbraith.
The famed author had already drawn criticism from the LGBT community because of her decision not to feature Albus Dumbledore's homosexuality in the upcoming film "Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald."
The new movie will reportedly feature a younger version of Dumbledore addressing his relationship with dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald - with whom the Harry Potter books suggested he was in love.
However, the film's director has stated that the Hogwarts headmaster will not be "explicitly gay" in the film despite the focus on him and Grindenwald.
Dumbledore being gay was never specifically mentioned in the books and Rowling only made the revelation after the series had wrapped up.
Some fans had surmised that Rowling is shying away from making any sort of real statement by her decision not to include it in the text of the books or films.
