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JK Rowling demonstrates why it's important for women to stand up for themselves after being accused of inviting online abuse

'Each time a woman stands up for herself... she stands up for all women'

Heather Saul
Thursday 17 September 2015 14:56 BST
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JK Rowling
JK Rowling

JK Rowling stressed the importance of standing up to negativity when she took on a Twitter user who suggested she could be "angling for some online abuse" head on.

The Harry Potter author responded to a post by the STV journalist Stephen Daisley, who joked that he hated “everything” in a tweet, prompting Rowling to send him a picture of the former Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy.

Daisley has a picture of Murphy as his Twitter banner and has included a number of pictures in his 'Why I love Scotland' blog. Daisley and Rowling have also joked about Murphy in past Twitter exchanges, but her most recent reply saw another user ask whether she was “angling for abuse” and suggest she could be seeking publicity for a new book, play or film.

Rowling has been at the receiving end of misogynistic and aggressive posts on Twitter in the past, with abuse peaking after she donated £1 million to the No campaign ahead of the Scottish referendum. She responded sarcastically to the user's tweet, using strong language to mock his suggestion that she could be encouraging abuse for attention.

When one user asked her why she had dignified comments with a response, Rowling quoted the late poet and author Maya Angelou to explain the importance of a woman speaking out.

Rowling often responds to both positive and negate comments on Twitter and has in the past tackled trolls head on by replying to tweets. One of her most memorable comebacks includes: “The Internet doesn’t just offer opportunities for misogynistic abuse, you know. Penis enlargers can also be bought discreetly.”

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