Watch CBS News

J.K. Rowling Apologizes For Falsely Accusing Trump Of Ignoring Boy In Wheelchair

By Oliver Darcy

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- It took three days, but J.K. Rowling says she's sorry.

The "Harry Potter" author apologized on Monday for a series of tweets that falsely accused President Donald Trump of refusing to shake the hand of a child in a wheelchair during an event last week.

Rowling said she was informed her tweets from Friday were "not a full or accurate representation" of what happened at last Monday's health care event at the White House and deleted them.

Major Cleanup Effort To Begin On Notorious Conrail Heroin Tracks

She also apologized on Twitter to the boy and his family, though she did not extend the same courtesy to Trump. A spokesperson for Rowling did not say whether she would issue an apology to the President.

Rowling on Friday tweeted out a video which was edited in a way that suggested Trump ignored the outstretched hand of 3-year-old Montgomery Weer.

The bestselling author wrote at the time that it was "stunning" and "horrible" Trump "cannot bring himself to shake the hand of a small boy who only wanted to touch the President." The first in her series of seven tweets had racked up more than 75,000 retweets by Monday.

READ: Woman Accused Of Abandoning Baby In Hotel Room Located, In Police Custody

Unedited video, however, showed Trump did, in fact, greet the boy, crouching down to eye level to shake his hand. Politifact declared Rowling's initial claim to have a "Pants on Fire" rating.

Rowling only deleted her tweets only after it attracted scrutiny from several news outlets, including former CNN host and Daily Mail columnist Piers Morgan, who wrote in a Monday column that the author's refusal to correct her tweets was "shameful."

The boy's mother, Marjorie, who was not available for a comment, also wrote in a weekend Facebook post that Trump "didn't snub" her son.

The-CNN-Wire ™ & © 2017 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.