'You are next': JK Rowling receives death threat after supporting stabbed author Salman Rushdie
13 August 2022, 16:21 | Updated: 14 August 2022, 12:11
Police said they are investigating a report of an "online threat" made to JK Rowling after she tweeted her reaction to the stabbing of Sir Salman Rushdie.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
The Harry Potter author, 57, shared screenshots to Twitter of a message from a user who had written "don't worry you are next" in response to her tweeting that she felt "very sick" after hearing the news and hoped the novelist would "be OK".
The Twitter user, described himself as a "student, social activist, political activist and research activist" who has previously expressed support for Tehran's theocratic dictator, and branded Israel, Ukraine and India "terrorist states".
Rowling tagged Twitter's support account in the post and said: "Any chance of some support?"
She later updated her followers on the situation saying: "To all sending supportive messages: thank you.
"Police are involved (were already involved on other threats)."
The Satanic Verses wouldn't get published today, according to writer and friend of Salman Rushdie
In a statement on Sunday, Police Scotland confirmed they were investigating the incident.
A Police Scotland spokeswoman said: "We have received a report of an online threat being made and officers are carrying out enquiries."
The same Twitter account also posted messages praising the man who attacked Sir Salman on stage in New York state.
The tweet to Rowling, which came from an account in Pakistan, appeared to have been taken down by Sunday morning.
Bosses at Warner Bros Discovery (WBD), the entertainment company behind the film adaptions of JK Rowling's Harry Potter series, said they "strongly condemn" the threats made against the author.
The famous author has previously been on the receiving end of death threats for her views on transgender rights.
Rowling is among the authors and notable faces who have voiced their disbelief after Sir Salman was stabbed on stage in New York state.
The Indian-born British author, 75, whose writing led to death threats from Iran in the 1980s, was to deliver a lecture at the Chautauqua Institution when the incident occurred, leaving him with an apparent stab wound to the neck.
He is on a ventilator and may lose an eye and has sustained nerve damage to his arm and liver, according to the New York Times.
On Friday, New York state police named the suspected attacker as Hadi Matar, 24, of Fairview, New Jersey, who was taken into custody following the incident.
Salman Rushdie's suspected attacker named as 24-year-old Hadi Matar
Since the suspect was identified, people on social media have speculated if the attack was in relation to Iran's former leader Ayatollah Khomeini previously issuing a fatwa calling for his death.
The call was issued following the publication of his book The Satanic Verses, which has been banned in Iran since 1988 as many Muslims view it as blasphemous.
