‘Witches’ backlash grows among the disability community: ‘Please do better’
Robert Zemeckisâs new adaptation of Roald Dahlâs 1983 childrenâs novel The Witches has been earning mixed reviews since its Oct. 22 premiere on HBO Max. Among the disability community, though, the movie has been widely panned. Organizations like the U.K.âs Reach Charity and the Paralympic Games have taken the film to task for depicting Anne Hathawayâs Grand High Witch as having distinctly different hands from what Dahl described on the page.
In a statement provided to Deadline, a Warner Bros. spokesperson stated that it was âdeeply saddened to learn that our depiction of the fictional characters in The Witches could upset people with disabilitiesâ and âregretted any offense caused.â
Two-time British Paralympian Amy Marren was one of the earliest voices to speak out against The Witches, in which Hathawayâs character is revealed to have three fingers on each hand â a condition thatâs similar in appearance to ectrodactyly, or âsplit hand,â which is typically identified by missing central digits on the hand or foot.
In her Twitter post, Marren noted that surgeons âtry to build hands like this for children/adults with certain limb differences,â and criticizes the film for depicting it as being âsomething scary.â She also included a picture of the Grand High Witch from Dahlâs book that depicts her with five fingers. (In the novel, the witches are said to have âclaws instead of fingernails.â)
Marrenâs criticisms were quickly echoed by other voices within the limb difference community, many adopting the hashtag #NotAWitch. A Change.org petition titled âWe Are Not Monstersâ has also been created, pledging to boycott Zemeckisâs film.
Speaking to Deadline, a Warner Bros. spokesperson attempted to elaborate on why the controversial design choice was made. âIn adapting the original story, we worked with designers and artists to come up with a new interpretation of the catlike claws that are described in the book. It was never the intention for viewers to feel that the fantastical, nonhuman creatures were meant to represent them.â
Neither Hathaway nor Zemeckis has responded to the backlash as of yet.
The Witches is currently streaming on HBO Max.
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