A superyacht reportedly belonging to JK Rowling was spotted moored in Marina del Rey, Los Angeles, with its name covered up, according to a new report, amid claims the vessel routinely draws protesters.

What the Report Claims

The yacht, built by Dutch shipbuilder Oceanco, was originally commissioned for Los Angeles businessman Eric Smidt before being sold in 2022 to Australian billionaire Brett Blundy. A SuperYachtFan listing describes a circular pool, a private cinema and a 'tranquil beach club' aboard, and suggests the vessel has since passed to Rowling. One unnamed source claimed the name is hidden because it 'often attracts protesters.'

Worst-kept secret on the marina.
A marina resident

A Pattern of Public Backlash

Rowling's tweets about the phrase 'people who menstruate' in June 2020 kicked off years of escalating conflict with trans-rights advocates. Crowds gathered at Parliament Square last year chanting against her after the UK Supreme Court ruled on the legal definition of woman, a case Rowling reportedly helped finance. In May last year she launched the JK Rowling Women's Fund to bankroll further legal challenges over sex-based rights, and she has said she's received numerous death threats. Protesters have also gathered outside her Scotland home.

MQ's Take

Whatever you make of Rowling's politics, it's worth naming what's happening here plainly: a person who has spent years funding legal fights against trans people is now reportedly hiding her own name to avoid the consequences of that activism in public. That's not persecution, it's accountability finding her wherever she docks.

Source: PinkNews

Cover photo: Daniel Ogren, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

protest

JK Rowling's $150M Superyacht Reportedly Hides Its Name to Dodge Protesters