Putin has sensationally claimed Russia is being cancelled for the Ukraine war just like J.K. Rowling was for her anti-trans comments.
However, the Harry Potter author has hit back against the comparison and took to Twitter to share a post with an 'I Stand With Ukraine' hashtag.
"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," Rowling said.
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With her post she shared a photo of vocal Russian dissident Alexei Navalny - who has been given a nine-year prison sentence for what he says are trumped-up fraud charges.
The anti-Putin activist was also previously poisoned, allegedly on orders from the Russian president.
Rowling's comments come after Putin claimed in a televised rant that the West likes to 'cancel' things.
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"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 said.
The Russian president then likened cancel culture to the Nazis burning books in the 1930s.
"They are now trying to cancel our country," he said.
"I'm talking about the progressive discrimination of everything to do with Russia - this trend that's unfolding in a number of Western states."
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Rowling has been widely criticised by fans and former Potter stars alike for her comments on the transgender community, including a series of tweets made in June 2020, in reaction to an opinion piece about 'people who menstruate'.
She said: "If sex isn't real, there's no same-sex attraction. If sex isn't real, the lived reality of women globally is erased.
"I know and love trans people, but erasing the concept of sex removes the ability of many to meaningfully discuss their lives.
"It isn't hate to speak the truth.
"The idea that women like me, who've been empathetic to trans people for decades, feeling kinship because they're vulnerable in the same way as women - ie, to male violence - 'hate' trans people because they think sex is real and has lived consequences - is a nonsense.
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"I respect every trans person's right to live any way that feels authentic and comfortable to them.
"I'd march with you if you were discriminated against on the basis of being trans. At the same time, my life has been shaped by being female. I do not believe it's hateful to say so."
If you would like to donate to the Red Cross Emergency Appeal, which will help provide food, medicines and basic medical supplies, shelter and water to those in Ukraine, click here for more information.
Topics: Harry Potter, JK Rowling, Ukraine, Putin, Russia
