What does Putin and Harry Potter author JK Rowling have in common?

In a recent interview, Vladimir Putin brought up Rowling in a rant about the West “trying to cancel” Russia.

Since the crisis in Ukraine began, there have been some misguided attempts to bash or boycott Russian composers like Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich and Rachmaninoff – all of whom have been dead for generations.

On the heels of such campaigns, Putin is not pleased.

“Today they are trying to cancel a whole thousand-year culture – our people,” Mr Putin commented.

“They are banning Russian writers and books.”

Regarding Mrs. Rowling, the embattled president said she was cancelled “just because she didn’t satisfy the demands of gender rights.”

He continued: “They are now trying to cancel our country. I’m talking about the progressive discrimination of everything to do with Russia.”

Rowling has been scorned by many progressives who believe the author is trans-phobic after writing an article about trans-activism eroding the legal definition of sex. The comments created a massive uproar – and lost her significant revenue from development deals being pulled.

As of publication, Rowling is yet to comment on her new-found supporter, though we’d imagine she’s not going to gloat about it anytime soon.