Duolingo apologises after app calls JK Rowling ‘mean’ in German lesson

Entschuldigung seems to be the hardest word...

Language learning app Duolingo has apologised and announced it has removed a German lesson which referred to controversial Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling as “mean”.

The German lesson in question included the question: “Magst du die ­Bücher mit Harry Potter als Figur?” - which translates to: “Do you like books with Harry Potter as a character?”

The correct response for tutees was: “Ja, aber meiner Meinung nach ist die Autorin gemein” (“Yes, but in my opinion the author is mean.”)

Duolingo, which has more than 130 million active daily users, said in a statement: “We apologise for any offence caused and will remove this content.”

Presumably, the correct answer has everything to do with Rowling’s polarising views on trans rights, which have been condemned by many online and even by the original stars of the Harry Potter films.

Daniel Radcliffe said last year about Rowling: “It makes me really sad, ultimately. Because I do look at the person that I met, the times that we met, and the books that she wrote, and the world that she created, and all of that is to me so deeply empathic.” He confirmed that he had not had any contact with Rowling since she began making comments many consider transphobic and added that he would “continue to support the rights of all LGBTQ people”.

Regardless, some didn’t think that it was the right platform for that kind of thing – as evidenced by the post made by freelance TV producer Gaby Koppel on X: “Shame on you @duolingo: learning German and I came across the sentence ‘Yes I like Harry Potter but the author is mean.’ How woke do you have to be to let trans ideology infect a language lesson?”

Elsewhere, Rowling recently hit out at former Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon over their differing stances on gender.

Referring to Surgeon’s new autobiography, "Frankly", Rowling posted a picture online of pages 108 and 109 of the book, with the words “Are you f*cking kidding me???” scribbled over.

Rowling wrote: “Annotating as I read to review. Might auction my scribbled-on copy, proceeds to go to @ForWomenScot. NB: nobody who’s offended by swearing should bid.”

She then offered up her review of the book:

In her book, Sturgeon said she had endured a surge of "vile" abuse after Rowling posted a selfie in a t-shirt with the slogan: "Nicola Sturgeon, destroyer of women's rights". 

Sturgeon had previously told the BBC's Newscast podcast that the Harry Potter author had every right to disagree with her but that the t-shirt "seemed to me quite incendiary".

In other news, we reported this week that the Polari Prize, a prestigious UK literary award for LGBTQ+ literature, announced a pause to its 2025 competition following backlash over the inclusion of author John Boyne - best known for his best-selling novel "The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas" and whose novel “Earth” was longlisted for the Polari Prize. 

The decision to include Boyne sparked outrage across the LGBTQ+ community, as the author has publicly described himself as a “TERF” (trans-exclusionary radical feminist) and has repeatedly voiced support for gender-critical views.  

In a July column for the Irish Independent, he defended Rowling and criticised women who oppose her stance, likening them to characters in "The Handmaid’s Tale" who enable abuse.