January 1, Putin Says Russia’s a Victim of ‘Cancel Culture’

Russian President Vladimir Putin compared Russia to Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, saying they’re both victims of “cancel culture.”

Putin said that Rowling, who’s been labeled by critics as transphobic, sparked public ire when she “didn’t satisfy the demands of gender rights.”

“They are now trying to cancel our country. I’m talking about the progressive discrimination of everything to do with Russia,” Putin said, comparing “cancel culture” to Nazis trying to burn books in the 1930s.

“We remember the footage when they were burning books,” Putin said.

“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.”

Rowling responded to Putin’s remarks in a statement on Twitter.

“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 wrote, alongside the hashtag #IStandWithUkraine.

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Putin compares Russia to J.K. Rowling as victims of ‘cancel culture’ and ‘progressive discrimination’