“Courageous Coughlan: Star Refuses Harry Potter Role Post Legal Showdown”
I love it when a plan comes together.#SupremeCourt#WomensRightspic.twitter.com/agOkWmhPgb
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) April 16, 2025
The legislation was intended to improve gender balance by requiring that half of non-executive board members on public bodies be women.
Controversially, the act defined “woman” to include transgender women who possess a Gender Recognition Certificate.
Image credits: nicolacoughlan
Feminist advocacy group For Women Scotland (FWS) challenged the law, arguing that the definition conflicted with the UK’s Equality Act 2010, which protects against discrimination on the basis of characteristics like s*x, reassignment, and orientation.
FWS contended that the Scottish government had exceeded its authority by expanding the legal definition of “woman.”
Image credits: nicolacoughlan
After years of litigation, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the terms “woman” and “sex” in the Equality Act refer specifically to biological women and biological s*x.
The Court stressed that while transgender individuals are still protected from discrimination, these protections do not extend to spaces or policies designed for biological women, such as quotas, women-only shortlists, anddomestic violence shelters, among others.
Coughlan urged people to donate to a charity that supports the transgender community
Image credits: nicolacoughlan
“F**k the Supreme Court,” the actress said on her Instagram, using her platform to urge people to donate to Not a Phase, a UK-based charity supporting members of the transgender community. Coughlan has allegedly donated $68,000 to the group.
“F**k the TERFs,” she continued.
Image credits: Channel 4 News
Rowling, on the other hand, has been both a vocal and financial supporter of FWS, reportedly contributing an estimated $92,000 to the group’s legal efforts.
The author has become a controversial figure in recent years due to expressing her views as a Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminist (TERF), a branch of feminism that opposes gender ideology.
The branch believes in s*x being biological, immutable, and binary. As a result, they oppose the existence of concepts such as gender self-identification and transgenderism. TERFs take particular issue with what they see as biological men intruding in women-only spaces.
With celebrities and fans taking sides, it’s clear that the debate has gone beyond legal definitions, expanding into a broader discussion about societal consensus on concepts such as identity, s*x, and biological parameters.
“Ally.” Fans took to social media to congratulate the actress for her message
