Who is Maya Forstater and what was JK Rowling’s tweet about?
MAYA Forstater was sacked for sharing her views that transgender people can't change their biological sex.
But what else do we know about the researcher and what did JK Rowling tweet?
Who is Maya Forstater and why was she sacked?
Maya Forstater worked as a tax expert at the think tank Center for Global Development when she was fired in March.
The 45-year-old's contract was not renewed after she posted a series of tweets questioning the government's plans to let people declare their own gender.
On December 19, Forstater's case was dismissed at an employment tribunal after a judge determined her views are "not worthy of respect in a democratic society".
She raised more than £85,000 through crowdfunding to pay her legal bills.
Forstater said she was "blown away by the support and interest in her case".
What did JK Rowling say on Twitter about Maya Forstater?
JK Rowling tweeted her support for Forstater after the judge's statement was released.
The Harry Potter author, 54, tweeted: “Dress however you please. Call yourself whatever you like. Sleep with any consenting adult who’ll have you.
“Live your best life in peace and security. But force women out of their jobs for stating that sex is real?”
She added #IStandWithMaya and #ThisIsNotADrill.
Many condemned the author, with some posting “JK Rowling is a Terf”.
A Terf is used to describe feminists who express ideas that other feminists consider to be transphobic — including the belief that trans women are not women.
Many of Rowling's 14.6million followers replied expressing outrage and disappointment in her support of Forstater.
What are Maya Forstater's views on transgender people?
Forstater believes trans women who hold certificates recognising their transgender identity cannot describe themselves as women.
She had tweeted a number of posts, one of which said "men cannot change into women" and “it is unfair and unsafe for trans women to compete in women’s sport”.
more on lgbt rights
The judge's 26-page judgement said: "It is a core component of her belief that she will refer to a person by the sex she considered appropriate even if it violates their dignity and/or creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment.
"The approach is not worthy of respect in a democratic society."
Forstater argued that "framing the question of transgender inclusion as an argument that male people should be allowed into women's spaces discounts women's rights to privacy and is fundamentally illiberal (it is like forcing Jewish people to eat pork)".