JK Rowling has helped bankroll a gender critical woman’s employment tribunal fight against employers she accuses of forcing her off work due to stress.
The bestselling Harry Potter author has revealed she has contributed to a crowdfunding appeal for Sara Morrison who says she has been ‘de facto suspended’ by her bosses at the Belfast Film Festival.
Ms Morrison, who worked for the annual movie showcase as inclusion/audience development coordinator, says she has been discriminated against after attending and speaking at a ‘Let Women Speak’ event on the Northern Irish capital.
She told of being punished for ‘holding gender critical beliefs’ and talking at the rally of ‘the harassment and intimidation that women experience when they express views similar to mine, that women’s rights are threatened by people claiming they can change sex’.
She has asked for help on the crowdfunding site CrowdJustice and has been publicly backed by Rowling, who drew attention to the page on X, formerly Twitter, and told her 14.2million followers: ‘Have donated.’
JK Rowling has shared with her 14.2million followers on X, formerly Twitter, a fundraising appeal by a ‘gender critical’ employees taking her bosses to an employment tribunal
Donors have been contributing to Sara Morrison via the crowdfunding site CrowdJustice
Sara Morrison says she has been forced into sickness-related absence, due to stress, from her job with the Belfast Film Festival after attending a ‘Let Women Speak’ event in Belfast
Ms Morrison initially set a fundraising goal of £15,000 to back her employment tribunal efforts – but Rowling’s post led to a surge of further donations and she has now more than doubled the original target.
This morning the total pledged was nearing £32,000 – with Ms Morrison’s intended sum now increased to £40,000.
Analysts have described a ‘pent-up frustration’ among people that prompts them to contribute to causes on sites such as CrowdJustice, with online messageboard communities such as Mumsnet rallying to support individuals such as Ms Morrison.
Her appeal for help is titled ‘Discrimination case against Belfast Film Festival’, taking on organisers of the event which has been running since 1995.
She writes, ‘I am a single mother and have been suspended from my workplace for holding gender critical beliefs’ – although an update was added clarifying that she has not been suspended but instead been on sickness absence since July 25.
Ms Morrison tells on the page of how she attended – ‘as a private citizen’ – and spoke at a ‘Let Women Speak’ event in Belfast on April 16 last year, where others taking part included activist Kellie-Jay Keen.
She said: ‘This event was focussed on protecting privacy, safety and dignity for women and children and was attended by a large and peaceful crowd.
‘Within an hour of my speech, the online harassment began. A photograph of me and my full name was circulated on Twitter. The online harassment continued over the weekend, and eventually the online bullies identified my workplace.
Harry Potter author JK Rowling shared a link to Sara Morrison’s CrowdFunder appeal
Sara Morrison says in her crowdfunder appeal that Belfast Film Festival ‘publicly sided’ with her online ‘bullies’ in a social media response about her being investigated
‘My employer, other staff, stakeholders and previous employees were also targeted online.’
She says a campaign ‘orchestrated’ against her included emails, texts and tweets implying she was ‘an unsafe person to be around’ and that a response from her employers suggested they were holding an investigation into her.
Ms Morrison added: ‘The stress and anxiety this has caused me has been overwhelming and exhausting. It’s not an exaggeration to say that at times I have been unable to carry out daily tasks.
‘My employer BFF has never attempted to explain to me why they decided to instigate an investigation three months after I spoke at the event.
‘No support was offered to me following the online harassment and abuse. My employer even publicly sided with the online bullies.
‘My case is therefore that my employer is discriminating against me due to my support of women’s rights, and the holding of gender critical beliefs.’
Her appeal page, which accuses her employers of ‘a bias and failure in their duty of care towards Sara’, says a five-day employment tribunal hearing has been scheduled to start on January 13 next year.
Her lawyer Simon Chambers, who is also representing the sitcom Father Ted’s co-creator Graham Linehan in a separate gender criticial ‘discrimination’ case, welcomed the help of crowdfunding website donors.
He told the Telegraph: ‘Employers have had it good for an awful long time – it’s a small swing back of the pendulum in the direction of the employee.’
Gender critical activist Kellie-Jay Keen was among those attending the ‘Let Women Speak’ rally held in Belfast on April 16, 2023
Father Ted co-creator writer Graham Linehan, pictured at a ‘Let Women Speak’ event in Dublin in September 2023, is also being represented by Sara Morrison’s lawyer Simon Chambers
And Dawn Bebe, chief executive of CrowdJustice’s parent firm Crowdfunder, said: ‘More and more people realise this is a legitimate way to raise money.
‘The people fighting cases tend to be challenging the status quo and can influence case law if they win.’
CrowdJustice is reported to have raised £14million over the past decade, with the number of cases soaring by 265 per cent since 2015.
Other people who have been backed via the site include Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, who fought a battle to avoid extradition to the US, and Sir Alan Bates who led the campaign for justice against the Post Office by subpostmasters and subpostmistresses wrongly accused of theft in the Horizon IT scandal.
MailOnline has approached the Belfast Film Festival for comment on Ms Morrison’s claims.
Rowling previously faced criticism in 2018 after she liked a tweet describing trans women as ‘men in dresses’.
Her spokesperson at the time said the like was a ‘mistake’, calling it a ‘clumsy middle-aged moment’.
The writer has since become a prominent campaigner to protect what she describes as women’s rights – fuelled by her own experiences of domestic abuse – in the face of pro-trans causes.
Former sub-postmaster Sir Alan Bates, founder of the Justice for Subpostmasters Alliance, is among those whose campaign have been supported by online crowdfunding donors
Also backed has been Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, seen here celebrating his arrival in Canberra, Australia, on June 26 this year after being released after five years in HMP Belmarsh
JK Rowling has become a prominent campaigner to protect what she describes as women’s rights – fuelled by her own experiences of domestic abuse – in the face of pro-trans causes
She has opposed new legislation in Scotland seeking to make it easier for trans people to change their legal gender.
She has also insisted biologically male trans women should not be allowed in women’s spaces nor to take part in women’s sports.
Rowling has denied accusations she is transphobic, and police earlier this year said tweets in which she ‘misgendered’ trans women did not fall foul of Scotland’s new hate crime laws which outlaw ‘stirring up’ hate against transgender people.
Rowling has also been vocal in recent days, criticising the participation of two ‘gender row’ boxers in the women’s event at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
