J.K. Rowling is once again linked to something terrible

Putin referenced the "Harry Potter" author and like her creation, Voldemort, she appeared

By Kelly McClure

Nights & Weekends Editor

Published March 25, 2022 8:10PM (EDT)

LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 30: J. K. Rowling attends the press preview of "Harry Potter & The Cursed Child" at Palace Theatre on July 30, 2016 in London, England. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, is a two-part West End stage play written by Jack Thorne based on an original new story by Thorne, J.K. Rowling and John Tiffany. (Photo by Rob Stothard/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 30: J. K. Rowling attends the press preview of "Harry Potter & The Cursed Child" at Palace Theatre on July 30, 2016 in London, England. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, is a two-part West End stage play written by Jack Thorne based on an original new story by Thorne, J.K. Rowling and John Tiffany. (Photo by Rob Stothard/Getty Images)

When your name is on the tip of the tongue of the most detested man in the current news cycle, it may be time to conduct a personal inventory. Author J.K. Rowling, best known for being the author of the beloved "Harry Potter" book series, and also for being a Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminist, otherwise known as a TERF, was mentioned by Putin during a recent broadcast.

During the televised meeting on Friday, Putin made a comparison between the treatment of Russian political figures and that of Rowling stating that, according to the popular mindset, both fall under the category of "cancelled."

Related: Rowling doubles down on "transphobic" remarks about gender reform bill on International Women's Day

"Not so long ago, the children's writer J.K. Rowling was also cancelled because she ... did not please the fans of so-called gender freedoms," Putin said during the broadcast. "Today they are trying to cancel a whole thousand-year culture, our people," he added. "I am talking about the gradual discrimination against everything linked to Russia."


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Rowling, likely desperate to find her way back to a realm in which she's viewed in a positive light again, fired back against Putin's statement in an effort to distance herself saying via 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."  

The responses to Putin's mention of Rowling, and Rowling's statement in return, were thematically unanimous.

Read more:

Jon Stewart said Harry Potter goblins are Jews, but adds, "I do not think JK Rowling is antisemitic"  

Amazon sales of a transphobic book revives greater free speech debate  

"Harry Potter" & the problematic creator – What's left for a fandom raised on false tolerance?


By Kelly McClure

Kelly McClure is Salon's Nights and Weekends Editor covering daily news, politics and culture. Her work has also appeared in Vulture, Vanity Fair, Vice and many other outlets that don't start with the letter V. She is the author of one sad book called "Something Is Always Happening Somewhere." Follow her on Bluesky: @WolfieVibes

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