In a viral clip from her upcoming Ziwe interview, Broadway powerhouse and RuPaul’s Drag Race winner Jinkx Monsoon delivered a savage—and hilarious—takedown of Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling. The read? Immaculate. The shade? Pulitzer-worthy.
When asked if Rowling would make a good Roxie Hart in Chicago, Jinkx played coy, clutching a cocktail and replying with theatrical confusion:
“Who is Jake? Who is he? Jake Hay Rowling?”
Ziwe gently corrected her, “She.”
To which Jinkx snapped back without missing a beat:
“Oh, dear. That is not a feminine name in the slightest.”
The queen of camp then got real, dragging Rowling’s own gender presentation into the spotlight. “I know that oftentimes, female authors use initials so that people assume it’s a male writer,” Jinkx said. “I have to presume that J.K. Rowling was unsatisfied with the way that the world saw her, and then she transitioned herself into a new personality so that the world would perceive her the way she wanted to be perceived.”
Cue Ziwe gagging. Literally.
While Jinkx served her signature satire, the underlying point was deadly serious: Rowling has spent the past few years actively campaigning against trans rights in the U.K., including celebrating anti-trans legal decisions on social media with cocktails and cigars. Meanwhile, the irony of her writing under both a gender-neutral name (J.K.) and a full male pseudonym (Robert Galbraith) hasn’t gone unnoticed—especially by Monsoon.
The clip has already lit up queer Twitter, with fans applauding Jinkx’s brilliant use of wit to expose Rowling’s hypocrisy.
Jinkx, who recently wrapped her run as Ruth in Pirates! A Penzance Musical, will return to Broadway August 4 to take over as Mary Todd Lincoln in the hit play Oh, Mary! She also starred in the recent season of Doctor Who.
Ziwe’s full interview with Monsoon will premiere on YouTube Thursday at 5 p.m. PST.
