Warner Bros.' 2020 feature film adaptation of author Roald Dahl’sThe Witchesreceived backlash from people with disabilities over its depiction of people with limb differences. Now, Anne Hathaway, who portrays the Grand High Witch in the fantasy film, has penned an apology for the pain caused by the design ofher villainous character.
Hathaway’s Grand High Witch is depicted with three fingers on each hand, a character design that prompted comparisons by people with disabilities to a limb disability called ectrodactyly. Shortly afterThe Witchesdebuted on HBO Max, Paralympic athlete Amy Marren and the Paralympic Games made separate statements on social media expressing concern about the potential negative impact of portraying characters with physical defects as terrifying monsters.
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In response to the controversy,Warner Bros. issued a statementexplaining that the filmmakers did not intend for audiences to feel that Hathaway’s character represented people with disabilities and apologized for any offense caused. Now, Hathaway has taken to her official Instagram account to offer her own apology, opening by stating that she was recently made aware of the pain felt by people with limb differences over the design of her character. “Let me begin by saying I do my best to be sensitive to the feelings and experiences of others not out of some scrambling PC fear, but because not hurting others seems like a basic level of decency we should all be striving for,” she said. “As someone who really believes in inclusivity and really, really detests cruelty, I owe you all an apology for the pain caused. I am sorry. I did not connect limb difference with the GHW when the look of the character was brought to me; if I had, I assure you this never would have happened.”
“I particularly want to say I’m sorry to kids with limb differences: now that I know better I promise I’ll do better. And I owe a special apology to everyone who loves you as fiercely as I love my own kids: I’m sorry I let your family down,” Hathaway continued. Included with the original post was a video by the Lucky Fin Project, a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising awareness and celebrating people with limb differences, which has been raisingthe issue of associating witches with peoplewho have physical disabilities on its own Instagram account in recent days. Hathaway concluded her statement by advising people to check out the “NotAWitch” hashtag to better understand the points being made by people with limb differences regarding the design of her character inThe Witches.
As to be expected, some of the responses on social media have been critical of the backlash, arguing that there should be no offense taken by the design of fantasy character. However, the majority of people appear to be supportive of the issue being raised and Hathaway’s apology is, for the most part, being well-received.
The Witcheswas previously adapted as a feature by Warner Bros. in 1990 withAngelica Huston as the Grand High Witch. While this incarnation of the Grand High Witch also undergoes a physical transformation, the creative team on the 1990 adaption did not take the same creative liberties in designing the “cat-like claws” of the character described in Dahl’s book.
The Witchesis now available on HBO Max.
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