birds of a feather

Rand Paul’s wife lets her TERF flag fly while defending transphobic author JK Rowling

Rand Paul’s wife, Kelley, took a break from her usual rage tweeting about Black Lives Matter and mask mandates to defend JK Rowling this week.

Mrs. Paul used Twitter to voice her outrage over a New York Times ad seen in a Washington, D.C. subway about a woman named Lianna “imagining Harry Potter without its creator”.

The ad is part of the newspaper’s new “Independent Journalism for an Independent Life” marketing campaign which features several New York Times subscribers–including Lianna, who, like many, isn’t a fan of the transphobic children’s author.

Related: Rand Paul is being a total drama queen again

I have wonderful memories of reading the Harry Potter books to my kids. Sharing them and anticipating each new book was a magical part of their childhood,” Kelley tweeted. “Shameful that the @nytimes is trying to erase the woman who created them, the brilliant @jk_rowling.”

She followed that up with another tweet less than an hour later, writing: “Perhaps the ⁦@nytimes is jealous of ⁦⁦@jk_rowling because most people don’t buy its fiction. Remember the tall tale below?”

She followed that with yet another tweet a day later in which she shared a blog post by someone named “Helena” who claims she used to be transgender, but after transitioning from female to male, changed her mind and “detransitioned”.

To better understand the world today’s kids are growing up in, take the time to read this deeply moving, brave and important piece by @lacroicsz,” Kelley tweeted, along with a link to Helena’s blog post.

But this isn’t the first time Kelley has exhibited TERF-leanings on Twitter.

Earlier this month, she blasted the National Collegiate Athletic Association and the University of Pennsylvania for allowing trans swimmer Lia Thomas to compete at the Penn-Harvard women’s dual meet.

“Shame on the NCAA and U Penn – meanwhile a google search shows all top story headlines like ‘teammates express support for trans star Lia Thomas.’ Women are being forced into silent acceptance,” she tweeted.

It’s also not the first time she’s said something completely stupid on Twitter.

Last May, Kelley accused adult contemporary singer Richard Marx, best known for his 1989 worldwide hit single “Right Here Waiting”, of being responsible for a “death threat letter” she received in the mail after he tweeted, “I’ll say it again: If I ever meet Rand Paul’s neighbor I’m going to hug him and buy him as many drinks as he can consume.”

And last October, she voiced her frustration that the bloodthirsty “mob” that held she and her husband “hostage” when they were walking from the White House to their hotel after Donald Trump’s RNC speech in August 2020 were not being held accountable for “fake anthrax and death threats sent to our home.”

Last year, Kelley made headlines when it was revealed she purchased as much as $15,000 worth of stock in Gilead Sciences, maker of the antiviral drug remdesivir, in February 2020, right around the time the World Health Organization announced the drug “may have real efficacy” in treating severe cases of COVID-19.

In May 2020, the FDA issued an emergency use authorization for remdesivir. By October, it officially approved the antiviral medication. Eight days after Kelley purchased stock in Gilead, her husband voted against an $8.3 billion emergency coronavirus bill. He was the only senator to do so.

Graham Gremore is the Features Editor and a Staff Writer at Queerty. Follow him on Twitter @grahamgremore.

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