Getty ImagesThe woman who once compared Donald Trump to Voldemort is now defending him.
Yes, J.K. Rowling may not be in support of the presidential candidate, but she does support his freedom of speech—offensive or not.
The author gave a speech at the 2016 PEN Literary Awards Gala in New York City on Monday night and shut down a popular 2015 petition to ban Trump from entering the United Kingdom, which had garnered over half a million signatures.
"Now, I find almost everything that Mr. Trump says objectionable," Rowling said while accepting a Literary Service Award for her commitment to free speech and social justice. "I consider him offensive and bigoted. But he has my full support to come to my country and be offensive and bigoted there."
"His freedom to speak protects my freedom to call him a bigot," she continued. "His freedom protects mine."
She explained how banning one person's freedom of speech leads to slippery slope that, in turn, impacts all of our freedoms. She said there would be "no moral grounds on which to argue that those offended by feminism or the right for transgender rights or universal suffrage should not oppress campaigners for those causes."
She added, "If you seek the removal of freedoms from an opponent simply on the grounds that they have offended you, you have crossed a line to stand along tyrants who imprison, torture and kill on exactly the same justification."