JK Rowling sides with Riley Gaines in feud with AOC over trans athlete debate

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Amid the escalating feud between former collegiate swimmer Riley Gaines and Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, author JK Rowling has come out in support of Gaines, directly responding to the controversy on social media.

The clash began after Gaines shared a photo of Ocasio-Cortez, Zohran Mamdani, and Bernie Sanders with the caption, “We are being destroyed from within.” The post appeared to criticize progressive lawmakers for their stance on gender and women’s sports.

In response, Ocasio-Cortez fired back on X (formerly Twitter), mocking Gaines’ athletic record by writing, “Maybe if you channeled all this anger into swimming faster you wouldn’t have come in fifth.”.

JK Rowling backs Riley Gaines after AOC’s attack

Several prominent figures, including left-leaning podcasters, voiced support for Riley Gaines, and now 'Harry Potter' author JK Rowling has joined them in defending her.

Rowling’s response came after X user Alex Cole accused Gaines of profiting from the transgender athlete debate, writing, “If you took every trans athlete out of sports, no one would have heard of Riley Gaines. She owes her livelihood to trans athletes.”

Rowling hit back, writing, “@Riley_Gaines_ doesn’t defend women’s rights for attention or money, any more than I do. We fight because it’s the only thing to do if you’re not a coward, a pick me or a living doormat.”

Gaines later replied, “Moral conviction is a foreign concept to some.”

What fueled the feud between Riley Gaines and AOC

The argument between the two women deepened when Ocasio-Cortez urged Gaines to “get a real job” after the swimmer appeared on Fox News criticizing progressive stances on socialism, religion, and abortion, and challenging AOC to a debate.

Reposting a clip from Gaines’ interview, Ocasio-Cortez wrote, “And I would like to challenge this person to get a real job.”

Gaines responded, “I have a real job. I'm a mom. It's the most important & rewarding job in the world. I think if you had a baby girl like I do, you'd understand my positions a little better."

Riley Gaines calls out ‘virtue signaling’ Democrats

In a recent appearance on Fox & Friends, Riley Gaines accused Democratic lawmakers of hypocrisy on women’s rights.

“I’ll never forget attending President Trump’s joint address to Congress earlier this year,” she said. “It was right after they voted on keeping men out of women’s sports, where every single Democratic senator opposed protecting girls in sports.”

She added, “It was remarkable walking into that hall and seeing all the Democratic women wearing pink to show solidarity with women when just the day before they voted against our rights to safety, privacy, and equal opportunity.”

Gaines concluded, “They are virtue signaling. It’s virtue signaling at its finest.”