The Witches Remake Lambasted For Using Disabilities To Scare People

In a year marred by a global pandemic  and historic unrest, it would be great to have a fun, campy and controversy-free movie adaptation of a beloved children’s book.

But because 2020 is gonna 2020, it turns out there are parts of the upcoming movie version of “The Witches” that are hurtful to people with disabilities — and the studio is barely apologizing for it.

The movie, which is now out on HBO Max in the U.S. and will be playing in Canadian theatres in late November , is a remake of the 1990 film starring Anjelica Huston, which was based on the Roald Dahl book.

Hathaway’s character, like Huston’s in the original, is a powerful witch who disguises her witchy features under a luxe exterior. This includes “claws,” as they’re described in the book, that she hides with her elegant gloves.

In the new movie version, though, her hands are different — she has three elongated fingers, with a gap between them. As many disability advocates have pointed out, it looks a lot like ectrodactyly , a limb irregularity sometimes called “split hand.”

Amy Marren, a British Paralympian swimmer, was one of the first to point out the problem.

“Disappointed in the new Warner brothers film ‘The Witches,’” she wrote on Twitter. “It’s not unusual for surgeons to try and build hands like this for children/adults with certain limb differences and it’s upsetting to [see] something that makes a person different being represented as something scary.”

Lauren Appelbaum of RespectAbility , a group that fights stigmas surrounding disability, told Variety the movie could be harmful to people with ectrodactyly or other differences.

“The decision to make this witch look scarier by having a limb difference — which was not an original part of the plot — has real life consequences,” she said.

“Unfortunately, this representation in ‘The Witches’ teaches kids that limb differences are hideous or something to be afraid of. What type of message does this send to children with limb differences?”

The hashtag #NotAWitch started taking off on social media. Many people noted that they already have to deal with people’s unfounded fear about their limb difference, and were disappointed that they could only expect more of that after the movie’s release.

The official response from Warner Bros. expressed regret, but stopped short of actually apologizing.

In a statement to Us Weekly , a spokesperson for the studio said they were “deeply saddened to learn that our depiction of the fictional characters in ‘The Witches’ could upset people with disabilities” and that it “regretted any offence caused” by the film.

“In adapting the original story, we worked with designers and artists to come up with a new interpretation of the cat-like claws that are described in the book,” they went on. “It was never the intention for viewers to feel that the fantastical, non-human creatures were meant to represent them.”

On Thursday afternoon, the movie’s star Anne Hathaway apologized in an Instagram post.

“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,” she wrote.  

“I particularly want to say I’m sorry to kids with limb differences: now that I know better I promise I’ll do better.”

Check out the #NotAWitch  hashtag for more comments from people with limb difference.