Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke of “cancel culture”, comparing the ostracism of Russian writers to the way J.K. Rowling has recently been cancelled. The president received a quick snub from the author of the Harry Potter books.
On Friday, March 25th, Putin cited Rowling as an example of what happens when a prominent public figure becomes a victim of “cancel culture” the practice of withdrawing support from celebrities on social media platforms because their views are discriminatory or even violent.
“J.K. Rowling has recently been canceled because she… did not please the fans of the so-called gender freedoms“, Putin said, talking to workers in the arts and literature.
“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“, he continued.
The Russian president has been shunned on the world stage, facing strong international condemnation and new sanctions since his invasion of Ukraine in late February.
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Later, the writer, who has been criticized on social networks after making transphobic comments, responded with indignation to President Vladimir Putin:
“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“, the writer wrote on Twitter.