HOGWARSH! JK Rowling doesn't suffer fools as she slams Putin name-dropping her in cancel culture jibe
JK Rowling has hit back at Russia President Vladimir Putin, who mentioned her in a wide-ranging speech in which he criticized "cancel culture" in the West. Putin compared the recent criticism of the Harry Potter author to that encountered by pro-war Russian composers and writers in a televised meeting on Friday, 25 March.
Rowling retaliated by denouncing Russia's invasion of Ukraine, claiming that Russia was "slaughtering civilians". Rowling also condemned the invasion of Ukraine and tweeted a link of BBC News from 2021 about jailed anti-corruption politician Alexei Navalny; the Putin critic survived a poisoning attack in 2020 and is presently in jail for “fraud and contempt of court.”
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She wrote, "Critiques of Western cancel culture are possibly not best made by those currently slaughtering civilians for the crime of resistance, or who jail and poison their critics," she told her 13.9 million followers on Twitter, along with the hashtag #IStandWithUkraine”
Critiques of Western cancel culture are possibly not best made by those currently slaughtering civilians for the crime of resistance, or who jail and poison their critics. #IStandWithUkraine https://t.co/aNItgc5aiW
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) March 25, 2022
During a broadcast interview about cancel culture on Friday, 25 March, Putin railed about the West's attempts to "cancel" Russia, comparing his country to Rowling, whi has been slammed as transphobic by some for her gender stance.
Putin, who portrays himself as a defender of orthodox cultural norms, has been vocal in his opposition to transgender and gay rights.
"JK Rowling has recently been canceled because she... did not please the fans of the so-called gender freedoms," Putin stated while speaking to workers in the arts and literature sector via video conference.
He further added, "Today, they are trying to cancel a whole 1,000-year-old country, our people. I am talking about the increasing discrimination of everything related to Russia, about this trend which is unfolding in a number of Western states."
The Russian supremo also said there was a "gradual discrimination against everything linked to Russia... in a number of Western countries" without providing any evidence in favor of his claims.
"They are banning Russian writers and books," he said. "The proverbial 'cancel culture' has become a cancellation of culture."
Putin then spoke in favor of Rowling, who faced backlash for her remarks on transgender issues.
"JK Rowling was cancelled because she, a writer of books that have sold millions of copies around the world, didn't please fans of so-called gender freedoms," Putin claimed.