LONDON: British author JK Rowling has slammed Vladimir Putin after the Russian President made a reference, mentioning her in his latest speech.
As per Variety, Putin had stated on Friday that his country was being "cancelled" by Western culture, similar to how Rowling has faced criticism for her controversial anti-trans comments.
"They cancelled [J.K.] Rowling recently, the children's author. Her books are published all over the world, [but they cancelled her] just because she didn't satisfy the demands of gender rights," Putin had said.
Responding to this comparison on Twitter, the 'Harry Potter' franchise author 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," followed by 'I Stand With Ukraine' hashtag. Putin had further also likened "cancel culture" to Nazis trying to burn books in the 1930s.
"We remember the footage when they were burning books. It is impossible to imagine such a thing in our country and we are insured against this thanks to our culture. And it's inseparable for us from our motherland, from Russia, where there is no place for ethnic intolerance, where for centuries representatives from dozens of ethnic groups have been living together," he said.
For several years now, Rowling has been surrounded by controversy due to her gender beliefs and a series of anti-transgender tweets posted in 2020. At the time the author had argued that discussing gender identity negates biological sex.
As per Variety, most recently, Rowling generated backlash for opposing a reform bill in Scotland that would make it easier for transgender people to legally change their gender.