J.K. Rowling refuses to let Trump trolls off lightly

Author J.K. Rowling has hit back at her Twitter critics to challenge the "hatred" she has faced after continuing to support Hillary Clinton following her shocking U.S. presidential defeat.

The Harry Potter writer was among the stars hoping for a Democratic victory at the polls on Tuesday (08Nov16), and was left disappointed after Clinton's controversial Republican rival Donald Trump was declared the 45th President of the U.S.

Rowling had been following the election developments and sharing her thoughts on Twitter, but the Brit's outspoken views were not welcomed by some Trump supporters, after she urged fans to fight to protect the equal rights of all Americans.

She wrote, "We stand together. We stick up for the vulnerable. We challenge bigots. We don't let hate speech become normalised. We hold the line."

Her rallying call prompted critics to attack, but Rowling stood firm and simply dismissed the online insults after one female follower revealed she had been branded a "degenerate" by Trump fans.

"I've been called b**ch, 'libtard' and plenty more tonight. Quite proud really; who'd want these people's approval?" she tweeted in response.

Some followers suggested Rowling simply ignore the Internet trolls who were likely just after the attention, but she refused to back down, insisting the only way to confront such hate was to expose it.

"I know you mean well, but tonight of all nights I'm going to say it," she wrote. "Ignoring spite, and hate, and bullying, doesn't work."

Rowling added, "The easy thing is to be silenced because you don't want the insults. The easy thing is to look the other way when it's happening to others. The easy thing is to keep your head down & let the bullies run amok. The right thing to do is to challenge racism, misogyny and hatred."

The author later returned to Twitter to praise Clinton for her gracious concession speech on Wednesday morning (09Nov16), when the former Secretary of State told supporters she was "sorry" for failing to win the White House, but urged her followers to give him "a chance to lead".

Revealing she had cried as she tuned in to the speech, Rowling posted, "I really needed to cry. @HillaryClinton, what a speech".