J.K. Rowling continues to court controversies. And this time around, it isn’t even because of her actions or words. Vladmir Putin, President of Russia, likened the state of his country to a victim of cancel culture similar to JK Rowling being cancelled due to her opinions.
The Russian President delivered a TV address in which he claimed that West is trying to cancel his country and that Harry Potter author JK Rowling had been similarly cancelled “just because she didn’t satisfy the demands of gender rights”.
Rowling has been at the receiving end from the transgender community due to her various comments during the last few years. This has resulted in a segment of fans feeling alienated from the Harry Potter franchise and resulting in negative press for the Fantastic Beasts movies.
Now, with Putin linking himself and his country with Rowling, the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beast brand was expected to take further beating. Warner Bros would have been cursing the timing of this comment with millions of dollars at stake on their upcoming Fantastic Beast movie – The Secrets of Dumbledore. A segment on social media wanted to pronounce Rowling guilty just on the basis of Putin associating with her in his comments.
However, it seems J.K. Rowling has been successful in doing some damage control. The Harry Potter author responded to Putin’s comments on Twitter. She distanced herself from his comments and expressed her support for Ukraine with the hashtag #IStandWithUkraine.
An immediate response from Rowling has helped her turn around a potential negative association to a positive response. Fans are delighted with Rowling taking a stand against the Russian President and supporting Ukraine. The executive at WB would be heaving a sigh of relief, for now.