JK Rowling's “I need a drug” post goes viral – “The brain is burning”

Author JK Rowling apparently joked that she was looking for medication to stay awake while she got her hands on the writing juices.

Rowling, the author behind the Harry Potter Book series and The Cormoran Strike The author of this crime series under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith made his comments on X, formerly Twitter.

“I need a drug with no side effects that will keep me awake for five nights in a row while my brain burns and the writing flows. Curse this human need for sleep,” Rowling wrote. The post received over 688,000 views and 17,400 likes.

A few minutes later, after being inundated with responses, she posted: “Lots of suggestions coming in. I probably won't try meth, but I appreciate your willingness to help.”

Rowling’s representatives confirmed Newsweek that she was working on the eighth book in The Cormoran Strike series. She announced that the title of the book would be The man with the trademark in March on X using their Robert Galbraith account, but a release date has not yet been announced.

In their responses, people recommended things from illegal drugs to caffeine pills, while others suggested that getting some sleep was best for the creative process.

“During sleep, the left side of the brain rests and the right side is free to move without being hijacked by the dominant left. When that happens, dreams, ideas, and inventions bubble up. No drug can change that without causing psychosis. Sleep,” wrote @slippy_mountain.

“I think about this every day. So many ideas, such an urge to research, learn and share and discuss information, and yet so little time,” @seibtnaomi replied.

“Be careful, just kidding. In my late twenties and early thirties I used to write between 8pm and 1am and it made me suffer terribly from insomnia for a while. Good sleep is crucial for your long-term health,” commented @WRMitchelson.

Rowling has recently become known for sharing her thoughts on transgender people on social media, which many have labelled as transphobic, a claim she denies.

Most recently, she was named in a lawsuit filed by Olympic gold medalist Imane Khelif.

The Algerian boxer, who won gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics, named Rowling among several others in a lawsuit in France alleging cyber harassment based on statements about her gender.

Rowling had publicly criticized Khelif's participation in the recent Olympic Games in Paris after one of her opponents, Italian boxer Angela Carini, gave up the fight after just 46 seconds. Carini cried in the ring and later told the media: “This is not fair.”

Many people falsely claimed that Khelif was transgender, and Rowling argued that she had an unfair advantage over the women in the competition.

“Watch this (the whole thread) and then explain why you are OK with a man hitting a woman in public for your entertainment,” Rowling wrote on X after Khelif's fight with Carini. “This is not sport. From the tyrannical cheater in red to the organizers who allowed this to happen, these are men enjoying their power over women.”

Khelif's gender identity was questioned during the Olympics when it was revealed that she was one of two female boxers banned from competing in the International Boxing Association (IBA) World Championships.

The couple had failed an unspecified gender verification test, even though they had been competing internationally for years and were still eligible to compete in other championships.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) allowed them to participate in this year's Games because the two boxers “are women according to their passports” and had also passed its own eligibility tests, which are also followed by other sports organizations.

She also publicly condemned the IBA’s decision to exclude the two boxers.

“These two athletes were victims of a sudden and arbitrary decision by the IBA. They were disqualified suddenly and without due process towards the end of the 2023 IBA World Championships,” said a joint statement from the IOC and the Paris 2024 Committee.