October 23 2025, 08:15 
A laser tattoo removal company in England is offering 50% discounts to anyone seeking to remove Harry Potter-themed tattoos in response to author JK Rowling’s virulent transphobia.
The company – Manchester Laser NQ, which operates inside The Old Vault tattoo parlor in Manchester – posted the offer to social media at the end of September, eviscerating Rowling’s views in the process.
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“Around 16% of people regret getting a tattoo,” the caption read, “less than 1% of people regret gender affirming surgery and 100% of queer people regret their Harry Potter tattoos (last stat not fact checked).”
“I hate JK Rowling and everything she has done to try and degrade the rights of trans people,” the post continued. “I know a lot of us grew up loving Harry Potter and it has now been ruined by her using the profits to fund her anti-trans agenda.”
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Many expressed appreciation in the comments.
“This is amazing!” wrote one follower. “Trans dude here, with a Harry Potter tattoo. definitely want it gone.”
“Absolute legends,” another person wrote. Others simply left applause and fire emojis.
“As soon as I decided to start my laser tattoo removal business, I knew I wanted to offer this discount,” El, the manager, told Attitude. “The way JK Rowling has campaigned against and damaged the rights of trans women in this country, and across the world, is absolutely disgusting.”
“Like many queer people, I loved Harry Potter when I was younger and it only lost its magic because of the woman who wrote it,” El added. “I know there are a lot of people walking around with HP tattoos that they no longer want or even feel ashamed of having now and I just wanted to make it a bit easier for people to get them removed.”
Rowling has used her vast wealth, mostly accumulated through the success of her Harry Potter franchise and its many multimedia spinoffs, to personally fund legal cases aimed at diminishing rights and protections for transgender women in the U.K. and Ireland. She has repeatedly vilified trans women as “men” and as threats to female safety and privacy. She also regularly spouts anti-trans rhetoric on social media.
A spokesperson for Rowling confirmed that the author’s JK Rowling Women’s Fund (JKRWF) has been quietly operating since late 2024, managing “her ongoing financial support for legal cases involving women’s and girls’ sex-based rights.”
The fund is just her latest effort to end trans women’s rights in the U.K. In February 2024, she pledged £70,000 (about $89,000) to For Women Scotland (FWS), the anti-trans organization behind the legal challenge that resulted in the U.K. Supreme Court’s ruling that excluded trans women from the country’s law prohibiting sex-based discrimination.
According to The Guardian, the Harry Potter franchise is worth an estimated $25 billion. In a May 28 Bluesky post, British barrister Jolyon Maugham wondered how much of Rowling’s fortune would be spent “oppressing a minoritised group she doesn’t like.”
Rowling’s hate has left many in the trans community devastated, as many who felt like outcasts felt especially connected to the series. As such, a large number of former fans are now regretting their Harry Potter tattoos.
In May, after Rowling gloated about a UK Supreme Court decision that rolled back trans rights, a tattoo artist in Brighton, England, offered free cover-ups to those with tattoos related to the book series.
Helena Gifford announced her service through a reel on Instagram where she showed off a stencil design that read “F**k Terfs free Harry Potter coverups” written in the Harry Potter font.
“I saw a post that JK Rowling had funded the ruling, and I got really annoyed,” Gifford said, speaking to Brighton news publication Argus. “I thought that if I had a Harry Potter tattoo, I would want to get it covered — It’s not a nice thing to have to deal with, and if I were trans, I can imagine it being really upsetting.”
While many pro-LGBTQ+ critics have urged others to deny any support to Rowling’s Harry Potter series, other fans of the series have argued about separating the art from the artist.
“It’s really difficult,” Helena said in response to that notion. “To some extent, it can be true of old art if [the authors are] dead and not currently hurting anyone, but JK Rowling’s money has come directly from Harry Potter, and it’s so hard to separate – that’s what is funding this campaign.”
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