The beauty brand trolls the 'Harry Potter' author who objects to an article dubbing women as 'people who menstruate' by posting a picture of a canvas bag with the words 'It's Bloody Natural' on it.

• Jun 11, 2020

AceShowbiz - The Body Shop's criticism at J.K. Rowling over her transphobic stance has backfired. On Wednesday, June 10, the company weighed in on the controversy that started with the British author's tweets, but people didn't take it well.

The beauty brand posted on its official Twitter account a photo of a red canvas bag with the words "It's Bloody Natural" on it in response to Rowling's tweet which disputes the notion that the term women should be replaced with "people who menstruate." The bag also features the hashtag "drop the P word."

"Hey @jk_rowling here's something we made earlier, we thought you might like one!" the account wrote in the caption. It additionally offered suggestion on how the writer could educate herself on transgender issue, "We've also popped in a vegan bath bomb and a copy of Trans Rights by @paisleycurrah for you to read in the bath!"

Some Twitter users quickly slammed the company for its poorly-timed response to Rowling's tweets, which was released after the author claimed that she was a victim of domestic abuse. "I've just emailed a note to say how disappointed I am at the tone and timing of this marketing," one person wrote.

"(It) thinks women talking about surviving domestic abuse is something to mock. What a look, eh?" another responded. Someone similarly commented, "Is the Body Shop's position now that women who talk about their experience of domestic violence need to be 'corrected' and patronised?"

A fourth user added, "I mean. The Body Shop. Deciding to join in a campaign to stop a woman talking about *bodies*." One other tweeted, "Wow, that's appalling. Bullying a woman online is not a good look," while someone else added, "What an incredibly unprofessional tweet from a supposedly ethical organisation."

However, there were some who defended The Body Shop. "The Body Shop called JK Rowling out for her transphobia and all of a sudden the brand is being called sexist???" one person asked in disbelief. Another wrote back to the critics, "Everyone's mad because The body shop are standing against a transphobic statement/question? Oh okay."

Rowling has come under fire after stating on her tweets, "If sex isn't real, there's no same-sex attraction. If sex isn't real, the lived reality of women globally is erased. I know and love trans people, but erasing the concept of sex removes the ability of many to meaningfully discuss their lives. It isn't hate to speak the truth."

She has since clarified her remarks, claiming that she approached the subject as a sex assault survivor. "If you could come inside my head and understand what I feel when I read about a trans woman dying at the hands of a violent man, you'd find solidarity and kinship," she argued. "I have a visceral sense of the terror in which those trans women will have spent their last seconds on earth, because I too have known moments of blind fear when I realised that the only thing keeping me alive was the shaky self-restraint of my attacker."