An imprint of JK Rowling's hands has been vandalised with 'blood-like' red paint on an Edinburgh street.
The Harry Potter author has been embroiled in online rows with the transgender community, as many accuse her of voicing 'homophobic' and 'transphobic' views.
Images surfaced online on Sunday showing the handprints, which sit outside Edinburgh City Chambers, smeared with red paint, with the transgender pride flag seated next to it.
Her golden handprints were engraved in 2008, when Rowling was awarded the Edinburgh Award.
READ MORE: Catriona Stewart: Why cancel culture matters - not only for JK Rowling
The 54-year-old has been criticised after saying hormones taken by trans people are 'a new kind of conversion therapy'.
She came under fire last month after sharing a link to an article entitled: "Opinion: Creating a more equal post-Covid-19 world for people who menstruate'.
She shared the article on Twitter, and commented: "‘People who menstruate’. I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?"
The writer later tweeted: “If sex isn’t real, there’s no same-sex attraction. If sex isn’t real, the lived reality of women globally is erased. I know and love trans people, but erasing the concept of sex removes the ability of many to meaningfully discuss their lives. It isn’t hate to speak the truth.
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“The idea that women like me, who’ve been empathetic to trans people for decades, feeling kinship because they’re vulnerable in the same way as women – ie, to male violence – ‘hate’ trans people because they think sex is real and has lived consequences — is a nonsense.”
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