Writer attacks JK Rowling over 'insatiable need for social media driven by ego'
Author Joanna Trollope compared JK Rowling to Kim Kardashian West as she condemned the Harry Potter writer's "insatiable" appetite for social media.
The City Of Friends creator described artists who air their opinions over platforms such as Twitter as being overly influenced by their ego.
Rowling, 51, has 10.3 million followers on the site and regularly shares her views on politics and human rights with them.
OK, here it is. Please don't start flame wars over it, but this year I'd like to apologise for killing (whispers)... Snape. *runs for cover*
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) May 2, 2017
This week she caused a storm when she apologised to her legions of Harry Potter fans for killing off a major character in the final instalment, released 10 years ago.
Trollope told the Daily Mail: "Creating this mass following and tweeting several times a day is like wanting to be Cheryl or Kim Kardashian.
"Some writers like JK Rowling have this insatiable need and desire to be out there all the time, and that's entirely driven by their ego."
Her comments came during the Hatchards Authors Of The Year party in central London.
With 20 novels now under her belt, the 73-year-old is known for her stories about country life and relationships.
She said she "deliberately" chooses to stay away from social media because she expresses everything she wants to in her books.
Trollope went on to claim that the growing trend of interacting with fans over social media posed a threat to the literary industry.
'It's so depressing to think that aspiring authors will look at famous writers with millions of followers, and think that that is how you have to operate," she said. "It's not, and actually, it's the opposite."
