LONDON Author JK Rowling has criticized the rhetoric surrounding the British referendum on the European Union, calling the campaign “divisive and bitter”.
Writing on her website on Monday, the Harry Potter author dissected the narratives of both sides and compared the campaigning process to the creation of a “monster”.
She criticized in particular the anti-immigration arguments put forward by the camp backing a so-called Brexit.
“For many of our countrymen, I suspect a ‘Leave’ vote will be a simple howl of frustration, a giant two fingers to the specters that haunt our imaginations,” Rowling wrote.
She also questioned the “grim” economic case disseminated by those who want to remain in the bloc. She did not state which way she would be voting.
In the article, entitled “On Monsters, Villains and the EU Referendum,” Rowling, one of the world’s most successful authors, also called herself a “mongrel product” of Europe, thanks to her part-French heritage.
Campaigners on both sides have been criticized for massaging facts and the increasingly vicious rhetoric of the campaign, particularly in the aftermath of the murder of British lawmaker and Remain supporter Jo Cox last week.
“Everything is going to come down to whose story we like best, but at the moment we vote, we stop being readers and become authors,” Rowling said.
“The ending of this story, whether happy or not, will be written by us.”
(Reporting By Freya Berry- editing by Michael Holden)
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