JK Rowling has taken a swipe at David Tennant after Kemi Badenoch, who the Doctor Who star has publicly criticised, was named as the new Tory leader.
The shadow housing secretary triumphed over rival Robert Jenrick when the result of a ballot of Conservative Party members was announced in central London earlier today.
She becomes the party’s sixth leader in nine years after winning the leadership contest by over 12,000 votes.
Following the news, Harry Potter author Ms Rowling mocked Mr Tennant who used an LGBT award win in July to say he wished Ms Badenoch did not exist.
Taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, she wrote: ‘My thoughts and prayers are with David Tennant at this very difficult time.’
After the speech Ms Badenoch branded actor Mr Tennant a ‘bigot’ as she hit back at the ex-Dr Who star for telling her to ‘shut up’ in a row over trans rights.
The new Tory leader lashed out at the former Timelord after he used an LGBT award win to say he wished she did not exist.
Picking up an award for celebrity trans ally on Friday night he told a cheering audience: ‘I don’t wish ill of her, I just wish her to shut up’.
Mr Tennant, who played the Doctor in the popular BBC show from 2005 to 2010, is ‘one of the LGBTQ+ community’s most fierce allies and supporters’, according to the British LGBT Awards.
He ‘often does red-carpet interviews while wearing pins associated with the community, with one particular Doctor Who-themed Tardis badge, designed in the colours of the trans Pride flag, helping to raise thousands of pounds for charities’.
In his acceptance speech he said: ‘If I’m honest I’m a little depressed by the fact that acknowledging that everyone has the right to be who they want to be and live their life how they want to live it as long as they’re not hurting anyone else should merit any kind of special award or special mention because it’s common sense, isn’t it?
‘It is human decency. We shouldn’t live in a world where that is worth remarking on.
‘However, until we wake up and Kemi Badenoch doesn’t exist any more – I don’t wish ill of her, I just wish her to shut up – whilst we do live in this world, I am honoured to receive this.
‘I am thrilled to be here and to be a part of this night – Pride is very important in our house, it’s a family affair, we have skin in the game, so this event tonight thrills me.
‘It gives me hope, it gives me fire, it gives me energy and deep joy, and even if I feel I don’t really deserve this, I’m very pleased and very proud to be receiving it.’
The new Tory Leader previously said the attack from the Doctor Who star was rooted in misogyny.
‘I do think David Tennant is a misogynist. The way he framed those comments showed that he did not care about the argument on single-sex spaces for women,’ she told the Times.
‘”Shut up” is one of the tropes that you hear them say. There’s something visceral there. I do think it’s probably rooted in misogyny. It doesn’t matter whether it’s misogyny or not. It wouldn’t be any better if it was directed against a man.’
After winning the award, the Scottish actor was also asked to relay a message to trans youth backstage.
During his interview the former Timelord said trans youth should not feel unloved or not accepted as ‘most people in the world don’t really care’, later adding that opposers would ‘all go away soon’.
He went even further backstage adding that ‘it’s a tiny bunch of whinging little f***ers that are on the wrong side of history and they’ll all go away soon’.
Ms Badenoch believes that Mr Tennant does not understand her point of view, saying ‘I’ve never said anything negative about trans people.
‘I’ve actually talked about protecting them from those who wish to exploit the rules that were made for them. They [people like Tennant] just don’t care. They attack. They think it’s all a big game. If you want to be a politician, then stand for election.’
Ms Rowling also weighed into the debate at the time implying Mr Tennant had a lack of concern for women’s welfare suggesting the actor wanted ‘a lot of people to cease to exist’ following his comments.
In particular she appeared to claim Mr Tennant had no concern for women who would like to opt for ‘female-only’ spaces in prisons, at work or in crisis centres.
She wrote on X: ‘This man is talking about rape survivors who want female-only care, the nurses currently suing their health trust for making them change in front of a man, girls and women losing sporting opportunities to males and female prisoners incarcerated with convicted sex offenders.’
Asked how she coped with being attacked by the likes of Mr Tennant, Ms Badenoch admitted: ‘It’s not an easy thing to cope with.
‘That is just one of thousands of people who sends nasty messages, police investigating things, you just need to have a certain type of character and constitution which is to be able to deal with things like that.
‘Politicians need thicker and thicker skin.’
Even Sir Kier got involved in the debate, as he criticised Mr Tennant – a Labour supporter who has previously described the party leader as a ‘clever grown-up’.
On a visit to a medical centre outside Leicester to meet NHS staff, he told reporters: ‘I think in politics, as in life, it’s really important that we are able to robustly disagree with others.
‘Obviously, that happens a lot in a general election campaign but we should do it with respect for everybody involved in that robust discussion.’
Ms Badenoch last year backed a rewrite of the legislation after she wrote to Britain’s equalities watchdog for guidance on updating the Act.
She has been outspoken on trans issues since taking on the Government’s equalities brief in October 2022.
In December last year, Ms Badenoch was involved in a furious clash with a Labour MP who claimed she was ‘inflaming’ hate against transgender people.
She angrily accused Kate Osborne of ‘lying’ about her and fumed at being ‘maligned by people making false statements’.
In fiery exchanges during a House of Commons committee hearing, Ms Badenoch said politicians should be able to disagree on trans issues without worrying about ‘triggering people’.
She also warned against a ‘chilling effect’ on politicians or clinicians ‘raising concerns’ on matters such as women’s prisons or single-sex spaces.
Ms Badenoch was dragged into an angry row with Ms Osborne after the Labour politician raised concerns about a ‘rising tide of hate’ against trans people.
She accused the Cabinet minister, during her appearance in front of the House of Commons’ women and equalities committee, of ‘inflaming the situation… with some of the language you have used’.