Pedro Pascal faces criticism from Martina Navratilova

Tennis legend Martina Navratilova came to the defense of “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling on Saturday as the writer received criticism from actor Pedro Pascal in a recent interview.

Rowling and Pascal have clashed in the past on transgender issues, including after Rowling celebrated the United Kingdom’s Supreme Court ruling on the legal definition of a woman.

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Actor Pedro Pascal, who is starring in a movie titled “Eddington” that played at Cannes Film Festival, deflected concerns about the United States becoming closed off to migrants in a press conference on Friday. (Getty Images)

“Bullies make me f—— sick,” Pascal told Vanity Fair. “It’s a situation that deserves the utmost elegance so that something can actually happen.”

Rowling dismissed Pascal in a social media post on Friday and Navratilova added to it.

“Another Johnny come lately telling women to STFU,” Navratilova wrote.

Navratilova is a lifelong Democrat but has never wavered on her push to keep biological males from competing against girls and women in sports. 

Martina Navratilova during the trophy presentations at the French Open on June 8, 2024, in Paris. (Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)

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She has made clear in the past she is no supporter of President Donald Trump, and a quick scan of her social media posts would underscore that. However, she has lamented Democrats’ inaction over the issue of transgender athletes participating in women’s and girls’ sports.

When Trump signed an executive order to prohibit biological males from women’s and girls’ sports, she fired off a fierce message toward the Democratic Party.

“I hate that the Democrats totally failed women and girls on this very clear issue of women’s sports being for females only,” she wrote in a post on X.

She also expressed her frustration in January when the House of Representatives passed the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act. Only two Democrats voted with Republicans on the bill.

Martina Navratilova at a press conference during the GNP Saguaros WTA Finals in Cancun, Mexico, Nov. 2, 2023. (Susan Mullane-USA Today Sports)

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“More Dems need to step up here. I know many who agree but are scared to speak up because of re-election. I say do the right thing. Grow a spine,” she wrote on X.

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