Harry Potter author JK Rowling has shown her support for Susan Calman after the Strictly contestant was trolled online, telling her: “Stay fabulous, my dancing queen.”
Comedian Calman had tweeted photographs of herself side by side, one showing her in a suit with a tie and the other of her looking glamorous in a dress and heels at the launch of Strictly.
She wrote: “Both of these pictures are of me. I can be both a kick ass time travelling lesbian and a bombshell in a dress. That’s the joy of Strictly.”
Both of these pictures are of me. I can be both a kick ass time travelling lesbian and a bombshell in a dress. That's the joy of Strictly. pic.twitter.com/4EiLv7DV0K
— Susan Calman (@SusanCalman) August 29, 2017
Her words were praised by most fans but a few took the opportunity to make nasty comments.
When one Twitter user said she looked “like a bitch” in both outfits, Calman assured them that she was not ruffled.
“Unfortunately for you, I take that as a compliment,” she wrote.
She later tweeted: “When a man calls me a bitch, or someone is homophobic I reply. Because this lesbian bitch ain’t standing for it.”
Rowling then tweeted a quote from late author Maya Angelou, which said: “When a woman stands up for herself, without knowing it, without claiming it, she stands up for all women.”
'When a woman stands up for herself, without knowing it, without claiming it, she stands up for all women .' Maya Angelou
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) August 30, 2017
Calman, who married her wife Lee Cormack last year, replied: “True dat Rowling. *High fives our bad selves*.”
The author then urged her to “stay fabulous, my dancing queen x” and Calman replied: “Always, my gorgeous friend x.”
Stay fabulous, my dancing queen x
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) August 30, 2017
Calman previously told the Press Association her dancing shoes were “instruments of torture”, adding she had not worn a dress since she was 17.
