Stephen King and J.K. Rowling have a very complicated history and now it gets even deeper as the two engage in the most unexpected debate — about syntax. Needless to say, things escalated quickly.

Over the years, Stephen King and J.K. Rowling have had several agreements and disagreements. King praised Rowling’s writing several times, especially for Harry Potter. The famous king of horror stories noted in an older review that he was “moderately impressed” with the first novel in the seven-book series, and was “moderately wowed” with the second and third books. He has reviewed the beloved series several times, briefly summing it up in the review for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: “Jo Rowling set out a sumptuous seven-course meal, carefully prepared, beautifully cooked, and lovingly served out.”

He also praised Rowling’s latest Cormoran Strike novel The Running Grave, noting that, “This is JK Rowling at her best, recalling the sheer readability of the Harry Potter books, but much darker,” King wrote. “This got me through a difficult time.”

However, over the years, King publicly disagreed with Rowling on her controversial statements about the issues affecting transgender people. A public row followed, with Rowling reportedly blocking King on X. That doesn’t seem to be true anymore, as the two went at it again — this time, with a syntax debate.

Stephen King doubting J.K. Rowling’s math skills is the icing on the cake

In one of her many rants about transgender rights, Rowling wrote, “Amazed this still needs saying, but some don’t seem to have got the memo. If calling me ‘transphobe’ and ‘fascist’ was going to scare me out of speaking up for women’s rights, it would have happened years ago. Whatever the square root of not giving a f**k is, that’s where I am.”

King didn’t address her views again, which he publicly disagreed with, but her syntactic (and mathematical) knowledge. He wrote, “I think you may mean “not giving a f**k squared.” The square root, I believe, would mean a *smaller* amount of giving a f**k. I could be wrong.” This wasn’t left unanswered, because Rowling got snitty, writing back, “But I was going for a fraction of a f**k. I barely give a tenth of a f**k. So I stand by my square root. What we really need here is a certified f**kologist.”