JK Rowling seems to be obsessed with me, says Nicola Sturgeon

By Craig Paton, Press Association Scotland Deputy Political Editor

Former first minister Nicola Sturgeon has claimed Harry Potter author JK Rowling is “obsessed” with her.

Ms Sturgeon made the comments during an appearance the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, just a day after the author’s most recent criticism.

In a post on X, Ms Rowling described the former SNP leader as a “world-class misogynist” and “profoundly disloyal” to her party following criticism of its election campaign in a new foreword for her book.

Asked by broadcaster Iain Dale if she wanted an “amnesty” with the Harry Potter author, Ms Sturgeon said she was not “at war”.

“She seems to be at war with me,” she said.

“So if we’re going to get an amnesty, I think it’s probably going to have to come from her.”

Ms Rowling has been an outspoken critic of the former first minister, particularly on gender issues – which have become a hot-button issue in Scotland since Ms Sturgeon’s attempt to reform gender recognition laws in 2022.

“We disagree on more than one thing – we disagree about independence, we clearly disagree on trans rights,” Ms Sturgeon said.

“My god, that woman is obsessed with me.

“I don’t spend as much time thinking about her as she does thinking about me.”

The former first minister also hit out at Joanna Cherry KC – the former SNP MP who has been one of her most vociferous critics.

Ms Sturgeon described the former MP’s book, which was heavily critical of her time as SNP leader and first minister and was published earlier this year, as “shit”.

Ms Cherry “seems to have an obsession with me that is not reciprocated”, she said when asked if there was a question she would like to put to the former MP when she appears in a later edition of the show.

“It’s not a question, it’s a challenge,” Ms Sturgeon said.

“Can she get through more than 30 seconds of the answer to any question without talking about me?”

Asked if she had read Ms Cherry’s book, the former first minister said she had not.

“One of the things that distresses me most the older I get is that realisation of all of the books I’ll never get to read,” she said.

“Why on earth would I spend time reading one that’s shit?”