London, Feb. 12: If J.K. Rowling scripts her latest work today, perhaps it will be provisionally called, Harry Potter Author and Delicious Revenge by Twitter.
Her target was Piers Morgan, editor-turned-interviewer of footballers, showbiz personalities and other such celebrities on television.
Always willing to express a forthright opinion, no matter what the issue, Morgan has been pleased to draw attention to himself through open support of his "friend" Donald Trump.
The Twitter exchange between Rowling and Morgan, both 51, was triggered by the latter's appearance on Friday on Real Time, an American talk show that airs weekly on HBO, hosted by comedian and political satirist Bill Maher.
Discussing Trump's attempt to stop people from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the US, Morgan insisted - as he has been doing right from the start - that this was not a Muslim ban.
Another panel guest, Australian comedian Jim Jefferies, considered this to be a goblet of rubbish and sledged Morgan in characteristic Aussie fashion: "Oh, f*** off. It's a f****** Muslim ban."
This exchange delighted Rowling who wrote on the social networking site: "Yes, watching Piers Morgan being told to f*** off on live TV is *exactly* as satisfying as I'd always imagined."
Stung, Morgan turned personal: "This is why I've never read a single word of Harry Potter."
Rowling's response was not at all philosophical but full-blooded: "Because you had a premonition that one day the author would roar with laughter at seeing you called out for your bullshit on live TV?"
It was Morgan's turn to return fire: "Everything I said was factual." Morgan, who is a cricket fan and had once backed Kevin Pietersen against Alastair Cook, referred to Jeffries and told Rowling: "If you think screaming 'F*** OFF!!!' at me changes that, then you're mistaken."
He taunted Rowling for being on the losing side, both for having supported the Remain side in the EU referendum and in the US presidential election: "The superior, dismissive arrogance of rabid Remain/Clinton supporters like @jk_rowling is, of course, precisely why both campaigns lost."
Leaving no stone unturned in the ill-tempered battle, he added: "Would you like me to explain why all your political views keep being defeated at the ballot box?"
Rowling now ridiculed Morgan by addressing her 9.55 million Twitter followers: "The fact-free, amoral, bigotry-apologism of celebrity toady Piers Morgan is, of course, why it's so delicious to see him told to f*** off."
Morgan now attempted to occupy the moral high ground and cause a death hush by sharing Rowling's post, describing it as "peak foul-mouthed, minor celebrity anti-Trump hysteria at its most deliciously supercilious".
Rowling dug deep into her chamber of secrets and asked Morgan: "Would you like a couple of hours to mock up some pictures of refugees carrying explosives to substantiate your position?"
Rowling was recalling how Morgan was sacked as Daily Mirror editor in 2004 after the newspaper admitted photographs of British soldiers abusing an Iraqi that he had published were fake.
Morgan now damned the author by calling her, horror of horrors, a "liberal", and said that she was "all for tolerance & free speech, until you refuse to call Trump the new Hitler".
Rowling tweeted an article about her winning a British Book Awards public vote for book of the year, which saw her sixth Potter novel, Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince, triumph over Morgan's autobiography.
She captioned it, "#StillHurts", to which he metaphorically stamped his foot, "#StillNeverGoingToReadYourDrivel."
The author tweeted back: "@piersmorgan If only you'd read Harry Potter, you'd know the downside of sucking up to the biggest bully in school is getting burned alive."
Back to Morgan: "No bigger bullies right now than the shrieking, hysterical anti-Trump celebrity brigade. You lost, so suck it up Dolores."
Although Morgan claims not to have read a word of Harry Potter, he was making a reference to the evil teacher character Dolores Umbridge.
Others joined the debate, mostly on Rowling's side.
During the last episode of Real Time, Morgan sought to challenge Jefferies: "This is the hysteria I'm talking about; 85 per cent of the world's Muslims are allowed in the country."
Jefferies carried on in the way Aussies generally do when they are fielding at second slip: "Oh, f*** off. This is what you do, Piers. You say, 'He hasn't done this, he hasn't done that, he's not going to do all these things.' Give him a f****** chance mate - Hitler didn't kill the Jews on the first day, he worked up to it."
